Chaos Chronicles: The Beginning of the End
by Kodomo Hikari
Summary: The Rei Tantei will find out that everything they've come to believe in themselves will change as they struggle to hold the fate of the Realms.Will they succeed or will they succumb to a power older than Time itself?
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own any of the cool characters. If you read about a character that you've never heard of before, chances are it's mine. I'm not making any money out of this... (pouts)

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**Kodomo**** Hikari**:       This is my first fan fiction so be nice. Please R & R. (makes a puppy face) I just did this to see if I can do this. @_@ Parental guidance to be safe. Uh...what else? (scratches her head)...oh yeah, I love this site! Uhmm...lot's of crossovers, that's for sure.

**Titania****, Queen of the Faeries (from Neil Gaiman's Books of Magic):**          "There are only 2 Worlds-your world, which is the Real World; and other worlds, the Fantasy. Worlds like these are Worlds of the Human Imagination: their reality or lack of reality; is not important. What is important is that they are there...They do not exist; and thus they are all that matters..."

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**_Word watch:_**

**Kitsune** = fox

**Chi / Qi= **energy/ spirit energy

**Ningen** = human

**Makai** = demon world

**Reikai** = Spirit World

**Youkai**= demon

**Gomenasai**** = **I'm sorry/ pardon me

**Regis** = another word for Queen

**Regent** = another word for King 

_The Japanese words are written in the way I think they would be written in English. I could be wrong though so don't bother with a Japanese English dictionary. My Romanization still needs a lot of improvement._

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**                                                                                                Prologue**

**_Earth, 2023 BC_**

            The land was laid to waste. A graveyard of bones littered the landscape. Already, a huge army was advancing forward to destroy the last of the Resistance. On top of a silent hill stood the last of a dying but powerful race- a creature so Ancient that, it gave pause to the _Great Annunaki_ and their children, the _Nefilim__._

          The great army paused in the middle of the plain and waited. _Victory was assured_, they thought. _There was no way the stragglers could hold back the inevitable. So why does their great leader hesitate? _

          "You have damned us all, my Love." 

          The voice that spoke came from the hill. It was said quietly and even sadly. A creature, not unlike the one that stood on the hill, rode forward from the Army. His robes were resplendent with the light of the sun that it even dimmed the brilliance of his fiery steed.

          "It does not have to be this way. Return to my side and together we will create Order." His voice had a commanding tone that hushed even the wind.

          "Order?" the voice from the hill said scornfully. "You have destroyed all our kind. The First Borns are no more." 

          "I am tired of watching. I have seen what the Children are doing to each other. I want to return this place to what it used to be." the leader of the great army responded. 

          "That is neither our place nor our duty. We are the First Born. We teach, we watch and we aid but we do not run their lives." 

          "Then are you happy with this? The Gods grow childish. The Demons are greedy. The Humans grow arrogant. And the World suffers for this! Abominations walk the earth!" retorted the great army's leader. He was angry. _Why does she refuse to see his point of view?_

          "And so you choose to instill order with an iron fist? Tell me, how is that different from what they are doing? You have built yourself an army from the Children who support you and destroy those who do not?" 

          "And why not? We are more than Gods are. We are the First Born." Shiva gritted his teeth. His Queen had refused him. 

          "I will stop you." 

          "There was a time when you loved me." 

          "I still do. That is why I must do this," Her voice sounded tired and weary

          "You leave me with no choice..." _If She will not be my ally then She will die along with the rebels. _

          At the unfinished sentence, the army surged forward. The ground resounded with the footsteps of a thousand feet and hooves as human, demon and their generals, the _Nefilim_ let loose an attack. There may be only one First Born on that hill but their power was never to be taken lightly. Especially not THAT one. 

          The ground beneath their feet suddenly erupted into a thousand spikes. Sharp vines grabbed hapless soldiers and trees several hundreds of feet tall crushed war machines. 

          Shiva watched in frustration and anger as his army was laid to waste by what seemed to be the very forces of Nature. His silver eyes glittered and a huge tree burst into flames. His third eye glanced at the hill. _How dare she oppose me !_ He strode boldly forward ignoring the carnage and destroying anything that got in his way. Then he saw him...standing beside her. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

          He held on to the hand of his Queen. He longed to comfort her. It tore at him to see her like this. He watched her pale face and dark eyes. She was so sad. So beautiful. Her midnight black hair flowed with the wind. He turned to the scene below. _Why does he do this? Why is he hurting her? Surely, he must know he is hurting her? _He did not understand. He rarely understood grown ups anyway. He let his _Chi_ move forward. The ground gave birth to more monstrous plants that continued to devour the great army. He will keep doing this. He will protect Her from Him. 

          "ENOUGH!" 

          A strong hot wind blasted out from the speaker. The silver fox tumbled. His Queen steadied him. He glared at Shiva, angry that he was thrown off his guard. The flora and fauna stilled and then all at once resumed their murderous rampage. 

          She bent down to him and whispered. It seemed like an eternity. His golden hazel eyes widened. A strangled 'No' forced itself out from his lips, "My Regis...no..." 

          "It is now my turn, Kitsune. You have done your part." 

          He watched in horror as she moved away to meet the Regent. Every fiber of his young being screamed at her to not do this but he could not move. Her Will was strong and he was rooted to the spot. He watched awestruck as for the second time in his life, the power of the First Born was unleashed. Amidst the chaos and destruction, he heard her voice...and that of the hateful Regent. 

          "We are the First Born. The First of the Endless. You cannot stop me." 

          The very earth groaned and heaved as the two powerful forces met and clashed. 

          With morbid fascination and dread, the young fox watch the Regent and his Regis. Shiva had grown taller, his silver hair whipped by turbulent forces, his eyes flashing with anger. The Queen was equally tall, standing serenely amidst the chaos...and...What was happening? She seemed to be changing before his very eyes. The change was not lost on Shiva too. His eyes widened with a realization. 

          "You are wrong," she said softly. 

          "You will not! You cannot!" it was a cry of disbelief and anger from Shiva. 

          "Yes." 

          There was a blinding flash and a deafening explosion. For the kitsune, it seemed that a thousand suns lived and died in that singular explosion. He also knew that there was no escaping it. For a split second, there was a horrible stillness and then there was the on-rushing sound of winds racing to the vacuum created by the explosion. He felt his own breath being drawn out of him and he gasped for air but searing hot winds filled his lungs instead and he knew he was going to die. 

          /No. Not yet. / 

          His eyes flew open. He found himself lying on...dust. Slowly, he stood up. _I'm_ _alive...but how?_

          /.../ 

          He looked around. There was nothing left but a scorched blackened plain. The hill was gone and white dust swirled in the atmosphere. He took a step forward to the direction of the caller and cried out. His entire body was in pain. He collapsed to his knees and a pile of jumbled skeletons crumbled to dust. 

          /I am sorry little one. / 

          _My_ _Queen?__ She's alive!_ Ignoring the stabbing pains, he scrambled towards where her mind voice was calling him. 

          /I am coming. Hold on! / He responded with his mind. He could not call out to her with his voice. He had inhaled the searing hot air during the explosion and it had burned his throat. 

          He found her. Already, her life was draining away in the sand. _But__...but she was immortal...why? How?_ Then it hit him. 

          "You made yourself human," he managed to croak. It was a dumb thing to say. Nevertheless, it was all he could say as he cradled her broken body. 

          /It was the only way. / 

          He understood. She felt so light in his arms. 

          /Stay awhile. / She was smiling at him, her dark eyes looking at him. And then they started to close slowly, her breathing slowing down. 

         He started to cry. _Were demons supposed to cry?_ He did not know. He no longer cared.  
  


**TBC**


	2. The Castle Outsiders

**DISCLAIMER:** See Prologue. If you skipped it...bad! Bad puppy! _(gives a toothy grin)_ Anything that you recognize is probably not mine. And I'm not making money out of this anyway...well I did make a bet with a few of my non-_otaku_ _tomodachis_ that someone would review it hahaha 0_o

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**Kodomo**** Hikari: **Wheee! I got a reviewer! (_starts__ jumping up and down and running around her room)_.It is such a big deal for me! _(does cart wheels)._ _Gomenasai__,_ it took me a week to upload the next chapter. The real world intruded for a while. Plus, I had to figure my way around this site. I'm such a newbie...hmm...how did I stumble on this site anyway? _(looks puzzled)._

**Kaeru**** Soyokaze** - Thank You! Thank You! I will! ^_^ 

          Oh, yeah...I can't write songs but I love music as much as I love anime, manga, computers and rpgs so you might see a lot of them here. I honestly don't know how this fan fic is going to end up so your ideas are welcome. Gack! Sugar high O_o Well, here we go, next chapter please...

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**                                                                        Chapter 1: The Castle Outsiders**

**_Earth, Present Day_**

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**_~\\ Oh, I wanted to be just like you. I prayed endlessly, "Don't go away" But to me, it was just a wish. And everyone left me. This world is so hard to live in.\\~_**

          "HARRY POTTER! STOP THAT INFERNAL RACKET RIGHT NOW!" It was immediately followed by a loud banging sound on the door. 

          The young man in question jerked up in bed. The banging sound was replaced by the sound of the door being kicked...twice. 

          "YOU LET DECENT PEOPLE SLEEP!" High-pitched this time. His Aunt Petunia. 

          "I'm sorry Auntie. I'll be quiet now." 

          "YOU'D BETTER BE!" boomed his Uncle. He heard them shuffle away and a door banged somewhere in the house. The night was quiet again. He got out of bed and shivered. The nightmare had come for him tonight. He must have been screaming. He was covered in sweat, his heart was racing, and boy did his scar hurt. 

          He saw him die in his dream repeatedly. There was always a new twist every time he dreamed about it but always he was powerless to save him. He wanted to hit something. Anything. _It was so unfair! What was so damn special about me anyway? The Boy Who Lived? So what?_ He did not have any fancy powers, and whatever magick he had sure failed Sirius Black. 

_          Not fair!_

          He groped at the window and opened it. The cool night air filled his room. He sank to his bed. Yes. It was not fair. First, it was his parents and now Sirius. Not to mention all those innocents caught in the crossfire. There was a time that he looked forward to being in Hogwarts. Anything to get away from his blood relatives. He had been so happy when he found out that he was not just an ordinary kid, that he was a wizard. Oh sure, he found out about Him-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named but back then, the good things far outweighed the bad. In the Wizarding world, he had friends and he felt like he belonged. It made living here, in the muggle world, so much more bearable. 

          But now...everyone he cares about seems to be going away. He curled up into a ball and started to weep. He should not be thinking like this but... 

          _…Who's going to die this year? _

**_~\\Is everyone trying to close their eyes?_****_ I am looking at everything in this world with Darkness. For everything, just to remain surviving, I, who am different from everything of yours, I'm exhausted from the struggle in my heart everyday. (Always)\\~ _**

          _Yukina__.___

          His sister. He could not tell her. Will never tell her. Everyone else thinks he's nuts for not telling her. After all, she had been looking for her brother all her life. _Oh yeah?__ Then what? Hello, Yukina. I'm your long lost brother. Let's live happily ever after! Fire Demon and Snow Maiden. What a gas._

          "You are a strange one, _ne_?"

          The voice jolted him from his reverie. Mokuro. One of the three Ruling Demon Lords of _Makai_. Amazing that a demon that could pass for a frail _ningen_ woman could be so strong. Well, that is if you could ignore the cybernetic attachments on her body. She had gotten them at a young age when her body was nearly destroyed by a demon attack. She survived of course. However, the demon attacker did not. No one crosses Mokuro. Maybe that is why he found himself hanging out with this demoness. No one crosses Jaganashi Hiei.

          "Our kind does not have a heart...yet one would think..."

          "Hn"

          Something like a smile seemed to cross her face. She held out a parchment. He ignored it.

          "It is from the Prince of _Reikai_."

          "So what does the brat prince want now?"

          "Something about the 10 Commandments..."

          Hiei's eyes snapped open. He grabbed the parchment and started for the door. Mokuro watched him with amusement in her eyes. It was strange. A year ago she would never had thought that this little Fire Demon could change her.

          "And when will you tell your sister the truth?"

          He stopped and turned to her, "Never. She is safer not knowing." Then he was out of the door.

**_~\\It's a different gaze that I get from you guys, You look at me with prejudice. Solitary among people that do not even care, I am living a lonely life. But still, the reason I live, what makes me live, Is because there is love. Hope and love alive in my heart.\\~_**

          To say that today was a weird day was an understatement. First, his mother was sober and making him breakfast. That had never happened in like...say...ever? Second, a stupid owl had crashed on his window and knocked itself out. The next minute he saw two more owls flying down and..._holy__ shit...are my eyes deceiving me or are they trying to help that other owl? _

          As if that wasn't weird enough as soon as he stepped outside to go to school, another owl flew down, crashed into him, and was knocked out promptly. 

          "Crazy bird."

          He bent down and saw an envelope clutched by the stupid bird. 

          "What's this?"

          He turned it around and saw that his name was on it. He tore it open and read the contents. His dark brows furrowed. _What the hell?___

          " YUSUUUUKEEEE!"

          He winced at the sound of his name being mangled. He looked up just in time to see a tall clumsy red head waving across the street like an idiot.

          " YUSUUKEEE! Wait UP!" 

          The red head suddenly made a mad dash across the street nearly creating a traffic incident. A few cars beeped at him indignantly. The red head made it across safely and then wagged a fist at the cars. He turned to Yusuke, a goofy grin on his face; "Hey did you get a weird letter today?"

          "Uh yeah. You too?"

          Kazuma nodded so hard it seemed to Yusuke his head would come off. "It says Koenma wants to meet with us after school at Genkai's place," Kazuma said. He stopped when he saw Yusuke frowning at him.

          "What?! Do you want to fight?!" Kazuma dropped into a fighting stance and faced his silent friend. 

          People stared. It seemed to Yusuke that people had always stared at him. A lot. Troublemaker. Their eyes said. Good for nothing. Useless. Street punk. Whatever. He didn't care anymore. He never really belonged anyway. Especially now that he knows he was Raizen's son, former King of _Makai_, and a half-demon. If he wanted to, he could blow up Tokyo with just one blast from his Spirit Gun. _Come to think of it, why not?_ He ignored his friend and went ahead.

          "Oy! Chotto matte! What's wrong with you today?"

          "Nothing." _Odd.__ How come I got a different letter?_ Someone caught his eye. A girl with long brown hair was waiting for him on the corner. His face broke into a slight tentative smile. The girl was frowning. _Uh oh.__ Not good._

          "You're late!" Keiko said to her friend. Her eyes twinkled as she said it and immediately he relaxed. It was all right after all. Moreover, he just remembered why he returned from _Makai_ and why he could never blow up Tokyo.

**_~\\I, I, in this world I've lost myself without love. I… I… was I struggling that much? \\~_**

          _Demons do not feel, do they?_ Especially not him. He gazed at his reflection. A tall red head, his hair falling softly and framing a handsome face, gazed back at him from the mirror. A sardonic smile appeared on his lips. _Funny._ He had taken possession of this body to escape and survive the hunters in _Makai_. In the end, the _ningen_ form had taught his _youkai_ side a lot of things-like family and friends. But it made it so much more difficult for him. The _youkai_ side was his true form and with it came all the urges and desires of a demon_. What am I now? Neither demon nor human?_ The reflection in the mirror shimmered.

          "_Oni-chan__!__ Oni-chan_!"

          He broke from his thoughts and the image in the mirror returned to that of a young man in his teens. The door to his room opened and in came a boy of 12. Shuichi. His younger stepbrother from his mother's new husband. They both shared the same name. Whereas the older Shuichi was quite composed in his manners, the younger one was more relaxed. 

          "Well, what is it?" he inquired mildly to his younger brother. Back in _Makai_, all the demons thought that he had gone soft for even caring about humans. They quickly learned that that was not the case at all. Not the case at all.

          "I got a strange letter today," Shuichi said. He liked his older stepbrother. Sure, there was something a little off about him but he didn't care. He was the best bro anyone could have. "And there's a strange guy in black who's looking for you too."

          Hiei. He sensed the _chi_.

          "Alright. I'll go talk to him and then after that we'll look at that strange letter of yours, okay?" He ruffled the boy's dark brown hair and left the room.

**_~\\ A heart that's been put out, a torn heart. I'll believe that everything happened because of me. \\~_**

          The 16-year-old boy waited patiently for his cousin, oblivious to the stares that he was getting from the students of St. Michael's Private Girls School.

          "Oooh! He is sooo cute! I wonder who he's waiting for."

          "Whoever she is, she is so lucky!"

          It was the end of the school day and the students were hurrying to wherever it was they were supposed to go to. A few of the girls were brave enough to smile at him. He returned their smile, his dark blue eyes glinting with amusement behind his glasses. They giggled and a few swooned.

          "Eriol-_chan_!"

          He turned at the sound of his name. A girl. Almost as tall as him, with the same midnight blue hair and eyes, was hurrying towards him with a smile. She was wearing the standard St. Michael's uniform-a dark blue pleated skirt, knee high white socks, black shoes, white blouse with lace trimmings, a yellow vest and dark blue jacket. On her head was the standard blue, yellow and white school beret.

          A few students turned. "Oh," one said. "Well of course it would be Miriya." Another nodded and sighed, "Yeah, who else would it be?" Miriya, one of the school's best student. Love her or hate her. It didn't matter. No one could ignore her.

          "Good evening, my cute descendant."

          That earned a few puzzled looks from the eavesdroppers.

          Miriya laughed, "Very funny my dear cousin. How was your visit to Japan?" She hooked her arm around his as he took her book bag. They both started to walk to his car.

          The eavesdroppers sighed with relief. So he was her cousin. Of course, why didn't they think of that? There was a certain resemblance after all. Everyone made a mental note to ask Miriya about him the next day. She wouldn't mind. She was always nice to everyone and not stuck-up at all.

          "Let's see," Eriol mused. "Shaolan and Sakura are still together. Touya is still not happy with the idea of them going out even after several years. Tomoyo is still singing. Mei Ling...Well, boy-crazy is what I call her. Also, sugar and clow guardians are never a good mix. And oh, they love your gifts. They also said hi and yes, I'm several kilograms over my allotted plane cargo limit."

          Her eyes lit up as she realized the implications of the exceeded cargo limit, "Presents!"

          He nodded. She let go of his arms and big grin appeared on her face, "Eriol, let's race to your car!" And with that, she took off.

          He watched her. His heart was heavy. It had taken several years for him to finally convince her about who she is and that it was not her fault. Now here he was sending her off to finally face her personal demons. His fist tightened on the letter. He never did tell her everything...He wasn't sure he could...or would...

          _O gods help us all..._

**TBC**

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**A/N:** Ok, that's it for Chapter 1. I've set up the stage as best as I could. What do you think? I know it's rather slow and serious but I promise there will be lots of action and laughs to...somewhere. I have them in my head but I'm still figuring out how they'll fit in the story. ^_^ Oh yeah, the title is from this now disbanded Korean boy band H.O.T. Paragraphs that start with a ~\\ and end with a \\~ are English translations of the song lyrics. Please R and R. God knows I need tips to improve my writing skills. If I got some of the charas' names wrong please tell me. The Japanese words are written in the way I think they would be written in English. I could be wrong though so don't bother with a Japanese English dictionary. 

**Chi = **energy/ spirit energy

**Chotto**** matte** = wait up

**Ningen** = human

**Makai** = demon world

**Reikai** = Spirit World

**Oni-chan** = title for an older brother

**-chan** = a prefix usually attached to names to indicate closeness/ term for endearment or something

**-ne = **no definite meaning, depends in how it is use in the sentence, could be "hey" or "right?"

**Youkai**= demon

**Gomenasai**** = **I'm sorry/ pardon me

**Otaku = **anime fanatic

**Tomodachi**** = **friend

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	3. At Odd Moments

**DISCLAIMER: **It's a fanfic for crying out loud! ^_^

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**Kodomo Hikari:**           Yay! Chapter 2 is up. I am suffering from a terrible case of writer's block so it may take a while for Chapter 3 to arrive (_gomen, gomen_). 

            Speaking of reviews... _(drum roll please!)..._I got 10! _*does the victory dance in front of non-otaku friends*_ Whee! Pay up people_! (Whispers to reader: they made a bet with me and they lost...big time! ^_^) _Thank you for those people who actually took the time out to R and R. 

**DarkMoonGoddess** - _Arigatou!_

**DarkMoonGoddess** – Oro? Again? Okies! I'll clear it up soon. ^_^

**Raptor 101** - _Arigatou!_

**Kawaii Kitsune Cub** - Yes, no bashing fest_...*winks*..._you mean ever? K, promise!

**darkness flame youkai** - Mmm...sweet snow...you like cookies and cream? They're my fave!

**Dark Dragon34** - THANKSx10 (",)

**New Moon1** - Gomen. Perhaps if you tell me what confused you I'll gladly explain. Or maybe I could ask Kurama to explain? 

**Kaeru Soyokaze!** Or Kia? - Hi! My kitty just had two kittens. I named the shaky one Plue and the orange one _(tadaan!)_...Kero! You're fic about getting the clow cards was hilarious.

**sammy** - _gomen_, I thought I put enough hints in the chapter to not do that...oh well, _HAI!_

**Maruken** - uh, sorry...I'll fix it.

For those who were confused: 

**1. Prologue** - happened in the distant past ... very distant past...

      - the silver fox mentioned may or may not be Kurama _*meow!*_

**2. Chapter 1: Castle Outsiders** - each charas were supposed to be introduced by a stanza in the song, Castle Outsiders, but the paragraph spacing got all messed up when I uploaded the chapter and I still cannot fix it. I was listening to the song and I thought it would make a fitting introduction.

- The timeline is the present day, Harry's entering 6th year, the CCS gang are now 16 years old (the others are obviously older too, except maybe the guardians) and for the YYH gang-this was a year after they all returned from _Makai._

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**_Some Japanese and non-Japanese terms you will encounter:_**

**Gomen** = sorry (short for gomenasai)

**Arigatou** = thanks

**Hai** = affirmative reply

**Tasukitei kudasai** = for the love of God, HELP ME PLEASE! ^-^

**Warded** = protected by a magic spell/ incantation, etc.

So that's it. I'll fix what needs fixing. Onwards! ^_^

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**Chapter 2: At Odd Moments**

            Genkai's place was a secluded Zen temple built high up a hill. It was a few miles away from the city. Ancient trees surrounded the place making it nearly impossible to see the temple itself. The only entrance was a very high and very steep stone staircase etched on the hill itself. The whole place gave off the impression that it was sacred grounds indeed. For those who were sensitive enough, they could sense that the place was _warded_. 

            "YEEeeAAARRRGH!!!"

            A flock of birds flew up, startled by the scream that shattered the stillness of the night.

            _"Tasukitei! Tasukitei, KUDASAIII!"_

            In direct contrast to the serene scenery outside, the scene inside the temple was a riot. Yusuke was laughing his head off. Shizuru was completely ignoring her younger brother's plea for help. Keiko was trying her best not to laugh but not quite succeeding while Yukina looked faintly worried. A little boy was hopping around indignantly, a pacifier in his lips while a blue haired girl was deciding whether she should use her oar for reasons other than ferrying the dead like say, uh...hitting Hiei with it on the head so he'd stopped strangling Kazuma. On second though, he might kill her...but then again wasn't she dead anyway...

             Genkai felt the beginnings of a migraine. She was definitely getting too old for this. While she was contemplating as to what technique to use on the boys to break them up, the door to the room slid open quietly.

            "Let him go, Hiei," a voice said calmly. "I don't want my brother to see Kuwabara turning blue."

            Hiei reluctantly let Kazuma go. Kazuma gasped for air before scrambling to his feet. His right hand started to glow when he caught Kurama's looked and the person behind Kurama. The glow vanished. 

            "I'll get you for this you little shrimp!" he said instead.

            Hiei growled a response. There was a flash and Kazuma was yelping in pain.

            "Tee hee that was a good one Genkai!" Yusuke grinned.

            "Aww, come on! Why is everybody taking the grinch's side?" Kazuma whined.

            "Because you asked for it. After all these years one thinks you should know better than annoy a fire de…uh I mean, Hiei", Shizuru said before taking a long drag from her cigarette. She turned to Kurama and smiled. "You changed your hair."

            It was true. His hair, which had been a flaming red before, had turned to a shade of red similar to that of a dark red rose...or dried blood, now that he thought about it. The process had started when he came back from Makai. At first, he was glad because he thought he might not attract as much attention as before. However, the resulting look merely increased his hordes of adoring fans and now guys were chasing him too.

            "I didn't. It did that by itself," he said to Shizuru.

            There was a slight tug at his side. He remembered. "My brother. He'll be joining us," he declared. His tone implied that there would be no arguments.

            The toddler stopped hopping and looked up at him. "Last time I checked I was still in charge."

            Shuichi blinked. Huh? He's in charge? Wait a minute. How old were you supposed to be before you start talking? Uhm, were babies even supposed to speak whole sentences?

            In response, Kurama sat down on the mat and motioned for him sit beside him. The room was suddenly quiet.

            "We both received a letter from a _ningen_ wizarding school."

            Yusuke nearly choked at Kurama's statement, "What?!"

            All heads turned to him.

            "Then I guess you got it too," Kurama observed.

            Genkai and the toddler both sighed. Botan, who had been quiet all this time, suddenly spoke up. "Wait, then doesn't that make it easier for us to get in?" she chirped.

            Hiei growled from his position in the shadows cast by the roaring fire in the fireplace. "Perhaps you'd better start explaining then."

            Shuichi was a little confused. All his brother told him was that they'd be meeting with his other wizard friends.

            Genkai glanced at Kurama. Her questioning look was immediately understood by everyone, except of course by Shuichi.

            /No. He does not know who we really are. All I told him is that we are wizards. / Kurama responded to Genkai's unspoken question.

            / Then why bring him here in the first place? / She responded back telepathically.

            / Because it seems he is going to where we are going. /

            "Hey, isn't that lying to the poor kid?" Kazuma said out loud.

            Everyone shot Kazuma a dark look. Botan's oar materialized out of nowhere and landed smacked into Kuwabara's head. Kazuma yelped.

            Now Shuichi was really confused. The room had been quiet until that goofy red head spoke up as if he was participating in a conversation. Not to mention, what's with the oar? What's going on?

            /As a matter of fact, Kuwabara. I have found out a long time ago that the best way to hide a secret is to tell a lie and that the best lie is one that is half a truth. / Kurama explained to Kazuma.

            "I still don't get it." 

            Something funny was really going on here. Either that, or his brother's friend had one hit too many or maybe the chokehold administered by the older sister affected his brain. He seemed to be conducting conversations with himself.

            The toddler jumped, freaking Shuichi out. "All right," he waddled towards Shuichi. "Kid, you're about to see and hear something very strange so I suggest that you don't tell anyone outside this room."

            He gulped and nodded. The toddler started to change before his very eyes. The place got smoky. When the smoke cleared a handsome 18-year-old boy with dark brown hair and eyes was looking down at him. One thing was bothering him though...

            "Well kid?" the 18-year old said smugly.

            All he could say was, "The pacifier makes you look stupid."

**TBC**

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**K. Hikari:**         I intended this chapter to explain the letters and them going to Hogwarts but as you can see, it turned into something else. I wanted it to continue but the chapter was getting too long already so I'm saving it for chapter 3 (that way also, I have something to write about in the next chapter). It was also getting sucky so I apologize if you find the pacing very slow. My brain is no longer working properly and I didn't want to rush it. I wanted the pieces of the story to fall into place gradually. Again, if I got the names wrong please tell me. R and R, please! ^_^ Hopefully, once I get over my writer's block things should pick up soon. Also, I really need to sleep since I_...*yawns*_ haven't had any in the past *_yawns again*.._.48 hours...cause of... _(keels over and falls asleep)..._

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	4. Hello

**DISCLAIMER:**  ...you're kidding me. Right?...

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**Kodomo Hikari:**           I'm awake! Yay! It wasn't writer's block after all but lack of sleep. ^v^. Chapter 3 is here! Thanks for everyone's review! Ok, I've fix the document formatting as best as I could. The funny thing is that it looks ok on my computer but if I view it in another computer, the spacing becomes all funny again. Oh well, _*sigh*_ As long as you can read and understand it, it's ok I guess. I've also made the necessary corrections. And now to our readers!

**Shuichi:**           Yay! _(suffering from sugar-high)_

**K. Hikari:**         _(eyes Shuichi with suspicion)_ _Ne_? Where's your brother?

**Shuichi:**           _*shrugs and gives an innocent grin*_

**K. Hikari:**         **Dragon Ladysupreme** - _Arigatou_ for the spelling correction on Hiei's name. _(looks at Hiei),_ Oy, why did you never tell me to correct the spelling of your name?

**Hiei:**                Only_ ningens_ are fussy on names.

**K. Hikari:**         O_o Oh well, thanks for the cookies too **Dragon Ladysupreme** _(sees Shuichi jumping up and down on her bed)_...Obviously, he likes them too ^_^.

**New Moon1** - Nice to see you again! ^_^ Hurray for regular readers! 

**Kaeru Soyokaze** – Another regular! _Ganbatte_ on your fic! ^o^

**Yayo-** Wow thanks for the Kurama plushie! _(hugs Kurama plushie)._ Now we both have matching Kurama plushies! _(squeals with delight)._ I'll sleep with him in my bed! ^o^ Thanks for also pointing out the correct spelling of Hiei's name.

**Sammy – **Oki doki! Will do better next time. Thank god for reviewers like you! ^_^

**Hiei:**                Get on with the story already!

**K. Hikari:**         _HAI!_

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**_Word watch:_**

**Baka** = idiot

**Chotto** = short for "chotto matte yo" which usually means "wait a minute"

**Rei Tantei** = Spirit Detectives

**Ano** = excuse me

**Katana** = Japanese sword

**Onegai** = please

**Ganbatte** = Good luck

**Minna-san** = everyone (may also be without the prefix –san)

**Kawaii **= pretty, cute

**Ie**= negative reply

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**Chapter 3: Hello**

            "The pacifier makes you look stupid."

            The room immediately exploded into laughter as Koenma struggled to regain his dignity. Why the little brat!

            "And what is that on your forehead?" the little brat inquired with wide eyes.

            Koenma felt a vein start to throb on his forehead. Damn it! He was the Prince of _Reikai_! He should not be taking any crap at all especially not with this little runt...his thoughts broke off as he saw Kurama. The boy-demon was smiling with the others but his emerald eyes were cold. On second thought...ehehe....

            "Well I'm sorry if you found this funny but this pacifier has powers that you could never imagine," he declared. He felt smug when he saw the look of awe on the kid's face. That is until Yusuke snorted.

            "Uh, yeah right." Then Yusuke was laughing again. Koenma glared at Yusuke. They both knew very well what he meant. The one time Koenma had decided to use it things did not go properly as planned. 

            "Well, anyway," Botan chirped. "Welcome to our little group." She gave Shuichi a dazzling smile. Koenma was sulking in the corner and sucking on his pacifier.

            Genkai clapped, silencing everyone. "Alright, to business people," she declared. Shuichi was looking at her oddly. How old WAS she?

            "Wizards can live longer than ordinary humans," Kurama told his brother after seeing the look on his face.

            "Oh!"

            Genkai smiled, "Thank you, Minamino. Now if Mr. Pacifier over there can stop sulking and start explaining the sooner we can all go."

            "Awww! Genkai!"

            She frowned. Koenma sighed then got up and sat beside Genkai on the floor. Genkai could be scary sometimes. 

            "Fine!" he said. "Since you're new, we'll introduce ourselves. I am Koenma. This is Genkai..." 

            "Our sensei," Yukina said.

            "Right. And that's Yukina..."

            "My love and my light..." Kuwabara mooned starry eyed.

            "Uhmm, yeah..." There was a slight commotion. Koenma cleared his throat and continued. "The small guy in black being restrained is Hiei and the one restraining him is Yusuke."

            Shuichi nodded, "I know them already." He smiled at Keiko, Shizuru and Kuwabara. The two girls waved at him." They're my brother's friends." He looked back at Koenma who a few minutes ago was just a toddler. How he could manage to talk with a pacifier stuck to his mouth, he had no idea.

            "And I'm Botan!"

            "Say, how did you do that with the oar?" Shuichi asked.

            "Uh...well..." 

            "It's called a summoning spell," Kurama explained while winking at Botan so she would keep her mouth shut. "She can summon that oar anywhere."

            Botan heaved a sigh of relief. That was close.

            "Alright, 'nuff with the pleasantries! Why are we here and what's with the stupid letters and why are there suddenly so many owls in Tokyo?!" Hiei said. He was definitely irritated.

            Comical looks on everyone's faces.

            Keiko was the first to break the sudden quiet, "Uh, owls? Hiei?"

            "YES! _BAKA_ OWLS! I couldn't rest on my favorite trees because they're up there!"

            Now everyone was deciding whether laughing at Hiei was worth his or her life. 

            "Uh, favorite trees?" Kurama asked calmly. There was an amused look on his face.

            That did it. Everyone burst out laughing. There was the sound of a sword being unsheathed. "What's wrong with having a favorite tree?" Hiei said in a low voice. 

            "Nothing so put your sword back," Genkai said. Her voice was muffled by her hand. She was trying to stifle a giggle.

            _"Ano..."_

            It was Yukina. That made Hiei sit. He was still scowling though.

            Yukina continued," What about the letters?"

            Koenma stopped laughing long enough to wipe the tears in his eyes and turned serious. Shizuru whacked her younger brother to make him stop laughing. Yusuke on the other hand was trying to wipe snot that had formed on his nose while he was hee hawing so much. Keiko looked a little disgusted at him.

            Shuichi looked at the group and decided he liked them all. Even the funny guy in black who was sometimes dropping by their house and freaking his dad and step mom.

            "All right," Koenma cleared his throat. "This is going to be long so better make yourself comfortable. Let's start with the letters the brothers and apparently Yusuke received. That came from Hogwarts."

            "What kind of stupid name is Hogwarts?"

            "What kind of stupid name is Kazuma?" 

            That started a stare down between Hiei and Kazuma. Kurama sighed. This is going to be long night.

            "It's the name of a _ningen_ wizarding school," Koenma explained

            "Humans have Wizarding School?" Shizuru asked in disbelief.

            This time Genkai spoke up, "Yes. Children who are gifted are sent letters from these schools. It is where they learn to use magic. These schools can sense if someone is gifted or not and send them letters once they are of age." She looked at Shuichi.

            Kuwabara was scratching his head, "You said these schools. You mean there is more than one?"

            Koenma and Genkai nodded.

            "How come I've never heard of them until now," Yusuke said, a confuse look on his face.

            Genkai continued. "Only European and the Western countries have such schools. Places like the East, Africa and other places where old magick is practice do not have such schools. Instead, what they and we have are Master-student relationships. The master chooses one to be his student and passes all his knowledge to the student. The cycle is then repeated."

            Keiko nodded, "Kind of like you and Yusuke."

            "Correct. This has been the practice here to insure that only the best receive the Knowledge. The student who fails loses his life, as failure is not tolerated. The student who succeeds becomes the new Master and imprints his own signature thereby adding to the knowledge. Magickal knowledge is also passed down in families. Oftentimes, the knowledge is closely guarded to the point that outsiders are killed for obtaining it."

            "But you apparently made a mistake with Yusuke." Hiei said from his position.

            "Hey!" 

            Genkai sighed, "Apparently."

            "Genkai!"

            "In the West, things are different. They have schools. But they are selective on their students," Koenma continued for Genkai.

            "That doesn't explain the letters we got." Yusuke said.

            "Wait, how come I didn't get one?" 

            "_Baka_. He said the schools are selective." Hiei was rolling his eyes at Kazuma.

            "You're definitely asking for it!" 

            He lunged at Hiei. 

            "Stop it!"

            The two boys froze up. It was Yukina. She looked upset. They both immediately calmed down.

            "If it weren't for her, you'd be dead meat you shrimp!" he growled through gritted teeth.

            "Hn."

            Genkai and Koenma were exchanging looks. Koenma glanced at Shuichi then at Kurama before sighing.

            "Well, er...Kuwabara will be going too..." The rest of Koenma's words were drowned out by Kazuma's whoops for joy. "I think the owl that's in charge of bringing his letter got a little lost or something..."

            "_Chotto_. Owls? They bring the letters?" There was something in Hiei's look.

            "Yes. Owls deliver messages in the wizarding world-well, in their world I mean," Koenma said.

            "Well, oops...that must have been the one I offed. It was carrying a letter or something." He did not look sorry at all. In fact, there seemed to be a slight smile on his face.

            "YOU DID WHAT TO MY OWL MESSENGER?!"

            "Hiei, you did not?" Yukina said softly. "Did you?"

            He sulked. He didn't kill the darn bird. He just knocked it out. It was swooping all over the place and generally annoying him. There were others too. However, he was tempted. Very tempted. Owls after all are one source of protein...

            "No I did not. It's just sleeping somewhere I guess."

            "OH my POOR OWL!"

            Whacked! 

            Shizuru had hit her brother again, for what seemed to be the nth time. "Stopped whining you blockhead!"

            "Oh well, anyway," Koenma continued. "The Ministry of Magic-that's a big organization in the Wizarding world, kinda like a national government agency- decided to hold an exchange student program. It is hoped that the program will benefit both sides since there will be an exchange of information. Japan was among the countries chosen for the pilot test."

            "And we are it," Kurama said.

            "Being my students," Genkai replied. "Yes." She glanced at Shuichi before continuing. "The reason you never got the letters until now is that, wizarding schools only send letters to gifted students who had no teachers. You had me."

            That was a half-truth and they both knew it. But Kurama understood. The explanation was more for Shuichi than them anyway. Telling his brother now who they really are would just present more problems. Err; did you know that your older stepbrother and some of his friends are demons that have enough power to destroy Tokyo many times over? Hardy, har, har. His human mother would have a heart attack. His stepfather...well...he didn't want to think about it.

            "Wait!"

            Everyone jumped at Yusuke's sudden outburst.

            "I can't go to a wizarding school! It would look funny on my school records! No university will ever accept me if they see in my records that I attended a wizarding school!"

            Everyone did a double take. Yusuke? Worried about his school records? Is the world ending?

            "Are you sick or something?" Botan inquired. One blue eyebrow was raised.

            "I think I'm going to faint," Keiko said dryly.

            "I'm not kidding!"

            Keiko suddenly looked menacing," Listen here Yusuke!" She had stood up and was looking down at him, " You are going to that Wizarding school whether you like it or not! It's not everyday that you get an invitation for something new. And the way your school records look you'll have more chances in a wizarding school than a university."

            Yusuke was staring at her open-mouth. "You're mean," he managed to squeak.

            Then she smiled at him sweetly, "Don't forget to send us souvenirs, k?"

            The next thing he knew she was hugging him. As quickly as that happened she let go. He can never really figure girls out. But her hugging him was nice.

            "Aww, that's sweet. Do I get a hug too, Yukina?"

            One of the piled logs near the fireplace suddenly flew in the direction of Kuwabara and knocked him out cold. Everyone turned to Hiei. He shrugged.

            Genkai sighed, "Well I guess it couldn't be help."

            "Well, err, that's about it," Koenma said. "The rest of you could go home. Yusuke, Hiei and Kura...I mean Minamino, I'd like you stay for uh...err..."

            "Last minute instructions," Genkai supplied. "I don't want my students making a jack-ass of themselves in Hogwarts. I have a reputation to uphold you know."

            The rest stood up. Shuichi looked at his older brother.

            "It'll be alright. You go ahead. Don't worry, we'll tell our parents together."

            "_Ne_, Shuichi. We'll walk you home," Keiko held out her hand towards the boy.

            Genkai called out, "Shizuru, when that brother of yours wakes up tell him we'll be leaving for Hogwarts the day after tomorrow. That should give everyone enough time to prepare." She turned to Yukina, "Yukina, go with Keiko. I need to be alone with my students for awhile."

            "Botan, make sure Shuichi gets home safely"

            "_Oni-chan_! I'm not a kid anymore!"

            "Sure!" She practically bounced out of the temple door with Shuichi in tow. Shizuru on the other hand was dragging her unconscious brother's body outside with one hand.

            Kurama heard his brother asking Botan what Genkai planned to do with them. He heard her reply in her usual cheery manner, "Oh probably kick their asses!" Then she was giggling as Keiko admonitioned her not to swear in front of a child.

            The room was now quiet. The roaring fire was casting shadows in the dim room. They waited for a while as the sound of incessant chatter and footsteps died away. The first one who spoke was Hiei.

            "So what's the REAL STORY?"

            Koenma gulped," Hey, I didn't expect company."

            Yusuke frowned, "Well, someone should have placed in HIS LETTER that this was strictly _Rei Tantei_ meeting only."

            "Enough!" It was Genkai.

            Kurama had his arms cross. It was his usual posture whenever he was thinking. "The Exchange Student Program...that part was true..." he mused. " The why on the other hand..."

            "When someone dies they go to Reikai, right?" Koenma asked.

            Yusuke nodded, "Yeah, for processing. You know whether they should go to heaven or hell or somewhere else." He shuddered, remembering his own experience.

            "Let me guess," Hiei sneered. "Somebody screwed up, right?"

            Koenma turned red. "We did not screw up! He...he," he started to bluster. "I mean we couldn't find him."

            "Was he a demon?" Kurama asked.

            "No." There was a long pause. The Reikai prince looked very upset. "Human."

            "_NINGEN_!" That was Yusuke and Hiei. They both looked incredulous.

            "That's ridiculous!" Hiei started to laugh. "Well isn't THAT funny."

            "He's not an ordinary human, I tell you," Koenma was looking more upset by the minute.

            "I believe you," Kurama said quietly. Everyone turned to him.

            Genkai said quietly to him, "Tell us what you know."

            "There are Rules in the 3 worlds- _Makai, Ningenkai and Reikai_. The rules are inviolable. To break them would mean an unimaginable fate of endless suffering."

            "What sort of fate?" Yusuke asked.

            "Baka. He said unimaginable."

            "Listen, Hiei. Don't compare me to Kazuma."

            "Hn."

            Kurama cleared his throat, "No one knows. The Rules have never been broken. There has never been a shortage of attempts though."

            "What sort of Rules?"

            Koenma answered, "Well, for starters, there's the energy barrier separating the 3 worlds. In order to crossover, you have to follow certain procedures. For humans, they have to be dead to be in _Reikai_..."

            "Or close enough," Kurama interjected.

            "Yes. For _youkai's_," Koenma continued. "Anyone above a Class A level can't go through the barriers..."

            "Huh? But what about us?" Yusuke looked confused.

            "I said the Rules cannot be broken. I didn't say they can't be bent." Kurama answered him.

            "Oh." Something clicked in Yusuke's head. "Oh, so you mean the human who was supposed to go to _Reikai_ managed to go around the Rules or something?"

            Koenma nodded. Genkai spoke up, "Only an extraordinary human can do that. Or he could possess knowledge about the 10 Commandments."

            The two _youkai_ were quiet. Yusuke scratched his head," 10 Commandments? Uh, like uh...that guy's what's-his-name in a book who parted some sea or something?"

            Kurama smiled, "That Yusuke is the Sunday school version. There is a legend among the three Worlds. There was a time when the three Worlds were as one. There was this Great War called the Overdrive that resulted in the separation of the three worlds. In order for it not to happen again, the greatest of the Saint Beasts set down the Rules or what we call the 10 Commandments."

            "Whoa." Then Yusuke continued, "I've never heard of that legend here."

            "_Baka. Ningens_ have short memories."

            "Listen Hiei..."

            "Oh shut up you two!" Genkai interrupted. "The reason no such legend existed here is because the knowledge is lost to the majority. It has only been recently rediscovered by archaeologists and researchers as they dug up new artifacts from ancient civilizations. However, their findings are contested. No one wants to believe them"

            Hiei looked at Genkai, "But you know."

            Genkai smiled, "The knowledge has been passed down from Master to student."

            "So," Koenma continued. "We have here a human who managed to go around the Rules. But that's not the worst. The Barriers had been weakening lately. Demonic activity near the Borders has been increasing as Hiei very well knows, being a frontier guard at _Makai_, and we at _Reikai_ are losing souls that were suppose to go to us. This is indicating that the Commandments are weakening."

            "So why go to Hogwarts, Koenma?" Yusuke asked.

            "The renegade human's last whereabouts were confirmed to be there. It seems there is a connection with the Commandments. Another piece of disturbing news is that one of our agents, after sending his last communication, disappeared. His last message was that the _ningen_ we were looking for was no longer human."

            _"Youkai?"_ Kurama asked a worried look on his face.

            Koenma shook his head, "It wasn't confirmed." The Prince looked very tired.

            Kurama was frowning, "The Ministry of Magic knows all this?"

            Genkai shook her head, "_Ie._ No. However, they are aware of the renegade because it seems he was a wizard who had gone bad. They call him Him-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. To say his name, they believe, is to bring Death."

            "I beg your pardon," a voice said quietly from the shadows. Everyone jumped. Hiei shot up to the ceiling looking very much like a cat that had been freaked. 

            The speaker emerged from the shadows. It was a very tall man with brown hair and clear blue eyes hidden behind glasses. He had a rather serious expression on his handsome face. He was also wearing a suit. In his hands was a black box covered with intricate designs.

            Kurama frowned. He did not sense the man at all. He was not even registering in his other senses except his eyes and ears of course. And that was odd because he would know if he was hallucinating. This one was definitely not a phantom and yet...

            Koenma seemed to alternately pale then brighten up. "Tatsumi. You're a little late," he glanced at the box. "So you found it."

            "It took awhile. Someone seemed to forget where he placed it," the man replied with a smile.

            "Who are you?" Kurama asked. He didn't intend to make his voice sound harsh but it came out that way.

            "Death," he answered Kurama. "You're a slippery one. Did you know that?" He moved closer to Kurama until their faces were almost touching. For reason's he could not understand, Kurama felt his blood run cold.      

            Tatsumi smiled, "Relax. I'm not here for any of you."

            Yusuke opened his mouth but nothing came out. He tried again, "Death? But I thought the Grim Reapers were ferry girls."

            "They are that too," Tatsumi agreed.

            Hiei came down from his position near the roof. He eyed the tall man suspiciously. One hand was on his _katana_.

            "Well," Genkai said. "Say hello to your new chaperone." She looked very amused.

**TBC**

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**K****.H.**                 Before I go on with Chapter 4, I need to have a few of my questions answered. I can't ask the brothers 'coz they're acting funny (**Dragon Lady**, what the heck did you put in those cookies? *_LOL _*), its been a while since I last saw YYH and YnM and somebody borrowed my HP books w/o permission and has still not returned them yet. T.T. I'm hoping my dear readers can help me…_onegai?_

1.         Does anybody know the name of Kurama's human step-dad? I don't think it was mentioned in the anime.

2.         Does anybody recall the full name of that CCS female teacher who was there when Yue gave Sakura her test? It was Ms. Mizuki-something as I recall.

3.         What is the difference between a _Shinigami and a Shikigami_? I've visited various YnM sites and the terms are used interchangeably but I think they're two different things.

4.         Names of the Weasley family members.

5.         For Yami no Matsuei – Is it spelled Juou Agency?

That's it. I hope someone can answer my questions. You'd also probably noticed by now that I'm using elements from other animes in my fic. By the way, uh, Hiei, you have favorite trees? _* tries hard not to giggle *_

**Hiei:**                _URUSEI! (K.H.: That's shut up in Japanese ^_^)_

**K.H.**                 I personally prefer the balete tree...it has a scary reputation though...

**Hiei:**                I said SHUT UP!

**Kurama:**          Wait until Hiei takes his first plane ride...that's in Chapter 4. _(evil grin to Hiei)_

**Hiei:**                o_O_o

**K.H.**                 As I said, it'll fall into place...^o^ R and R. Your input is highly appreciated. Corrections and comments on my writing are welcomed.

**Shuichi:**           Yay! R and R minna-san! _(still bouncing on sugar-high)_

**Kurama:**          When we get home, I'm putting you on a sugar-free diet. _*smiles coldly starting to turn into his youkai form* _If you happen to borrow Hikari's Harry Potter books I suggest you return them to her...NOW.

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	5. Narita Airport

**DISCLAIMER:**              You know the drill by now.

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**Kodomo Hikari:**           Chapter 4 is here _minna-san_! Thank you so much for waiting. All your well wishes and support has been received and I appreciated it. Our refrigerator is chocked full of all the goodies you people sent for me. ^_^

**Dragon Ladysupreme** - Thank you for the presents and helping me with my questions. I'll consider them. Yeah, I'm bummed about our weak immune system and yes, I'll be checking out your fics too. I also told Hiei about what you said. ^_^ By the way, he loved the chocolate dragons. ^_^

**Hiei:**    I do not! _(mouth smeared with chocolate)_

**K. Hikari:**         _(raises eyebrow on Hie_i) Uh sure. **Kaeru Soyokaze**- Nefertiti is a good name. I really appreciate it that you're with me with every chapter.

**Yayo-** Honestly? It had a fun beginning but you're ending was sort of a let down. But...your ending also leaves open a possible sequel...what do you think ^_~ 

**Sammy -** All those cookies, cakes and...whatever am I going to do with them _*stops as she hears a sound*_ Oh wait, Kuwabara's here. He's raiding the fridge again. _*sound of people arguing*_ Looks like Yusuke is here too and from the sounds of it they're arguing with my sister over the devil cake. _*sighs*_ The life-size Kurama get-well card is just wonderful! Thank you so much for being here also. I mean it. ^_^

**Bloodfang **- Another cake! Wow! Thank you! Made the bitter medicine go down a lot easier.

            All right folks, here we go. Chapter 4. Hope it's not a let down. 

**Kurama:**          Okay, time for your medicine.

**K. Hikari:**         _*makes a face*_ Yech! _*brightens up suddenly*_ Thanks for getting my Harry Potter books back.

**Kurama:**          No problem. Now drink your medicine.

**K. Hikari:**         Wait, you didn't hurt anyone did you when you got those back?

**Kurama:**          _*looks shocked at the idea*_ Of course not! Now stop stalling and drink it before I force it down your throat.

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**_Word Watch:_**

**Meifu **= Land of the Dead (in YnM-in case you haven't seen it)

**Shinigami** = God of Death

**Nee-san** = older sister

**Hayaku **= hurry!

**Auror** = wizard warrior (From Harry Potter -If you don't know this one you must have been living in a galaxy far far away 0_o Or, it's because your religion forbids you to read the books that way your soul will not burn in hell.  )

**Death Eater** = wizards who served Him-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named

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**Chapter 4: Narita Airport**

            Narita Airport was crowded as usual. Tatsumi frowned a little. He was not use to rowdy crowds and right now, the friends and relatives of the _Rei Tantei's_ not to mention the _Rei Tantei_ themselves were making such a ruckus that other people were giving them a wide berth. He stood a little farther off the group and checked to make sure all their papers were ready and in order. It had been the busiest two days of his whole un-dead life. Meeting the _Rei Tantei_, the mission. Do _Shinigamis_ feel stressed? Maybe he should ask that mad scientist Watari when he goes back to_ Meifu_.

            "Now Yusuke, I want you to behave yourself, oh-kay?" She was hung-over from last night's drinking session but had somehow managed to drag herself out of bed to see her son off.

            Yusuke made a face, "Aww come on mom!"

            Keiko smiled at Yusuke, "Don't forget our souvenirs, ok?"

            "Is that all you can think of?" he asked in disbelief. Her smiled gained an added wattage. He found himself thinking what sort of souvenirs she might like.

            In another area of the group:

            "Kazuma don't make a fool of yourself. Do you hear me?"

            Kazuma gulped, "Sure, _nee-san_." Older sisters are scary, he thought.

            "Good luck," Yukina said shyly.

            "Of course! I, Kazuma will...OUCH!" Shizuru had smacked him on the back of his head. Then she whispered to him, "Say, you're new teacher- Tatsumi-he's single, right?"

            Kazuma's eyes widened in shock, _"NEE-SAN!"_

            Kurama watched them said their farewells with each other. It was a happy group but he couldn't get rid of the dark foreboding that he was feeling. He looked at the older man. Tatsumi was standing a little off the group waiting for them to finish their goodbyes. There was a stern look in the man's eyes. A soft hand touched his shoulder. He turned around and met the green eyes of his human mother. She looked teary. He wasn't at all surprise. A few nights ago, while trying to explain Hogwarts to both their parents he'd learn- much to his surprise (after Shuichi had been put to bed of course) that his biological human father was an Auror who died in combat with the Death Eaters. Hatanaka Masaki, his stepfather, was also a wizard and knew of the dangers in the Wizarding World. Both had been reluctant to let them go but in the end after he told them a little of the truth (he'd been doing that a lot these days now that he thought about) they all agreed that the safest place for them would be the school. However, that raised the question as to their parents' safety. Masaki had assured him that they would be all right and that they could take care of themselves. He was not so sure about that and so using his influence in both _Makai_ and _Reikai_ he had his parents watched. Not just his parents but also the other _Rei Tantei's_ close friends and family members. If any of them so much as get a hair out of place, he'd know about it. He'd better know about it or a few heads were going to roll. This fact was painfully known to those he'd "requested" to do guard duty. Koenma had thrown a tantrum when he heard Kurama's plan saying it was a waste of resources but in the end, he agreed after Kurama threatened to back off the mission saying why he should care anyway if the _Reikai_ Prince wasn't going to bother with a few _ningens_. 

            "Shuichi," she began.

            "It'll be alright, mom. I'll look after him."

            "I know. You take care of yourself also." She was worried. He could see that.

            His stepfather stepped forward and gave him a warm hug, " I know you boys will make us both proud." Then he whispered to Kurama, "Please be careful."

            Hiei stepped in. "It's time to go, " he said. He'd seen Tatsumi signal them. It was about time. All these _ningen_ drama was making him nauseous. He glanced at Kurama. How could he stand it? He saw the others gave their final farewells and follow Tatsumi.

            "Aww, don't be so grouchy, Hiei."

            It was Botan. She was her usual bouncy self. She'd fallen in step with him and was chattering mindlessly. He wondered idly what it would be like to wring her neck.

            "Be happy. It's your first plane ride after all!" 

            "Hn"

            "I mean look at me! It's my first plane ride!"

            God, his ears hurt. Will no one shut this woman up? It was bad enough that they had to separate him from his _katana_. He felt so ...naked with out it. He remembered Kurama telling him that they do not want him setting off alarms so his _katana_ had to be checked in luggage. Whose bright idea was this anyway? Riding a plane to Europe? Why don't they just take those dimensional portals for crying out loud but NOOOO...since Kurama's stepbrother is here they couldn't do that. Botan had suggested they go by oar and Hiei was glad that everyone thought she 'd gone off the deep end. Therefore, plane ride it was then.

            A sudden ear-splitting beep caused him to jump and jolt him from his thoughts. He looked up to see Kurama standing in what seemed to be a metal gateway. The lights on the gateway were flashing and several humans were running in their direction. He could sense they were expecting trouble. His senses sharpened. Oh goody, a fight.

            "Ehehe, sorry officers," Kurama gave them his most innocent smile. "I forgot to turn it off." He reached into his back pocket and deposited a cellular phone to the head guard. The burly man frowned but let him through. The noise stopped.

            Hiei glared at Kurama. Set off alarms indeed! Stupid fox. Kurama just gave him one of those infuriating grins.

            "And that, is why, hand-carrying a _katana_ is out of the question," Tatsumi sighed. This is going to be the longest flight in his whole undead life.

            He ushered everyone in and through the security checkpoints. They got through with no more trouble except for the occasional bickering between Yusuke and Kazuma. He glanced at the fire-demon. So far, so good. He was afraid he was going to use his powers early on to wrestle with a disgruntled fire-demon but so far the kid was behaving. He wondered absentmindedly if Hiei's eyes could get any bigger than they already had.

            Hiei stared the monstrosity. What the hell? There was no way in _Makai_ this metal bird is getting off the ground much less FLY HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD. He and the group were now at the passengers' lounge waiting to board their plane. The glass walls provided a spectacular view of the runway and the various planes parked in the tarmac. Tube-like tunnels snaked from buildings and attached themselves to one side of the planes. He could see people entering and leaving it. He could also see planes landing and taking off. How these clumsy metal birds managed to do that he had no idea. His stomach suddenly felt like someone dropped a hot stone inside it.

            "What's wrong, Hiei?" Kazuma taunted. "Never seen a plane before?"

            "If you want to keep your head Kuwabara I suggest you back off." _Baka_. Of course, he'd seen a plane. But not up close. Up close, they look so bulky that he didn't think they could fly. Much less get of the ground.

            "Oh goody! They're loading our stuff now!" Botan pointed excitedly. Several yards away, the cargo conveyor belt was loading the plane with the passenger's belongings. Hiei could see that some of them were HUGE metal crates. That's it. No way is that thing flying with all the weight inside it. Botan's suggestion to go by oar didn't sound so flaky now.

            Kurama nodded, "It seems like we'll be boarding it soon."

            "Er, Botan," Yusuke asked. "How do you know it's our stuff?"

            She smiled and pointed again. Everyone made a face. Shuichi burst out laughing.

            "That's one way to label your luggage," Tatsumi said calmly. He didn't know whether he should laugh or cry. Botan's luggage sported huge cartoonized pictures of her making the peace sign. They were visible for miles.

            "Hey!" Kuwabara asked. "How come you've got so many luggages?"

            "I'm a girl." As if that explained everything.

            "Yeah, but you're..."

            A sharp jab into his abdomen by Yusuke shut Kazuma up. He was about to blurt out something that they'd have a hard time explaining to Shuichi.

            Tatsumi straightened up, "Alright people. Let's go. They're calling our flight number."

            Hiei hesitated. He really didn't want to go on that thing. First, how could that thing fly. Second, he was not going to put his life in the hands of a ningen. He'd rather take his chances in Makai. Third, ningens are all bakas! What were they thinking! That thing could drop out of the sky and finished them all.

            "Actually, Hiei." Kurama said. " A lot more people die on the streets than in the sky."

            "Stop reading my mind."

            "I didn't. It was in your expression."

            "And for your information, fox. The reason a lot more people die on the ground than in the sky is because you die when you HIT THE GROUND, not when you're FALLING to the ground!"

            He gave a sharp looked to Yusuke, Kuwabara and Botan. The three were giggling madly.

            "Hiei's scared of flying!' Kazuma said in a singsong manner.

            "That's enough!" Tatsumi had about enough of their antics. "Are you people getting on board or do I have to drag you in?"

            Hiei was about to reply when Kurama laid a restraining hand on him. He growled instead and chose to follow everyone into the tunnel. 

            If the plane didn't look sky worthy outside, it was worse in the inside. Inside there were rows and rows of seats. There was also a staircase leading up. Hiei's eyes widened. Huh? Where are the engines necessary to get this thing off the ground? 

            Tatsumi lead them into first class. It was more of a necessity than a luxury really. If they were in business or economy class there was no telling what would happen with all those people around. He already had a high-strung fire demon on his hands and a ditzy ferry-girl. 

            "Sweet!" Yusuke exclaimed. His eyes surveyed the first class. It wasn't claustrophobic like the other sections and each seat had their own LCD TVs and headsets. 

            "Oh! Computer games too!" Shuichi said excitedly. He and Yusuke settled down on their seats and started fiddling with the entertainment system.

            "Oh yeah!" Kuwabara agreed. "Now THIS IS FLYING with STYLE!" He had found his seat and was playing with the controls.

            "CUT THAT OUT!" 

            The seat that Kuwabara was playing with had suddenly reclined hitting Hiei who was sitting behind him. The flight attendant gave both boys a sharp reproaching look.

            Botan giggled, " Oh this is fun!" She settled right beside Hiei.

            Kurama saw the panicked look of Hiei as he found out that Kuwabara was seated in front of him and Botan was beside him. He looked pleadingly in his way.

            /Can't do, Hiei/ Kurama responded to Hiei's silent plea of help. He was laughing inside. Wonder how long Hiei could keep himself in check before going nuts?

            /No way I'm switching places with you or have Kurama switch places with Botan./ Tatsumi interrupted. He gave Hiei a look that said, if you have a problem with that we will talk it over in _Meifu_.

            The two stared at Tatsumi. Tatsumi had taken his seat directly across the aisle from them. A position, Kurama noted, where he could keep an eye on everyone. Kurama shrugged. He had the window seat beside Tatsumi. In front of him were Yusuke and Shuichi.

            Yusuke looked over at Hiei then turned in his seat to look back at Kurama.

            /I bet 2 dollars he'll last for 5 minutes. / Yusuke sent Kurama his thoughts.

            Kurama grinned. /You're on./

            /I'm betting 5 dollars that he won't last 3 minutes./

            Yusuke and Kurama gaped at Tatsumi. The man was reclining calmly and had his eyes close. Did he just make a 5 dollar bet? There was a slight curl in Tatsumi's lips.

            Hiei was at the limits of his wits. When the captain's voice came on the speaker, he jumped. The man's voice sounded old. What, they're letting patients from geriatric wards fly planes now? When the flight stewardess started going through the emergency procedures he wondered idly how that was going to help anyone when you're on fire several thousand feet up in the air or going to the ground at several miles per hour or...

            The muffled rumble of the engines jolted him. Wait a minute, where are the engines? 

            Botan suddenly squeezed herself between him and the chair in front of them, "Look, the engines! They're turning!"

            She was excited. Hiei felt his stomach drop. THOSE Were the ENGINES? Outside his window, he could see huge turbines begin to turn. The turbines were housed in cylindrical casings and the air around it was shimmering with the heat. In turn, the casings were attached to the planes wings, which in Hiei's eyes looked far too slender to bear the weight of the plane not to mention all the people and their luggage inside. The scenery outside started to move and he realized the plane was now backing up and moving to the runway.

            "Those are the engines?" No way. No way in hell is this thing getting up to the sky with just those. 

            His eyes were wide now and his voice was unnaturally squeaky. He heard Shuichi say, "Don't worry Hiei-kun. There's another pair on this side."

            Kurama was holding back his laughter, "See Hiei-kun. Nothing to be afraid off."

            Oh, he could just kill that stupid, stupid fox!

            The plane started to taxi. Hiei bit back an uncharacteristic scream that was starting to boil up in the back of his throat. It didn't help that Botan was still yammering in his ears as the plane picked up speed and the scenery outside was starting to blur.

            He felt a slight bump and saw that the landscape was oddly tilted. It took a full 30 seconds for him to realize what was happening. They were going up. No way! His mind screamed at him and his stomach decided at that moment to be left behind on the ground. They were going to fall and die!

            "AAAAAAARRRRGGGHHH! GET ME OFF! _HAYAKU! HAYAKU!_" He was clawing at his seatbelt that now refused to cooperate with him in his panicky state. 

            /10 minutes. I win. Pay up./ Kurama grinned.

            Tatsumi grimaced. Well at least it wasn't going to be a long boring flight to Europe.

**TBC**

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**A/N:**    **1**. I made Shiori's (Kurama's human mother) eyes green like her son's. No arguments on this one, k? :P

            **2.** I gave his step dad the name of Masaki. I believe his name in kanji stands for "true happiness". ^_^

            **3.** Still accepting suggestions for the names, descriptions, powers for the following:

                        1. A really exotic Egyptian beauty who's Harry's age. (girl)

                        2. A really proud boy who's a year ahead of Harry and of Aryan descent.

                        3. Son of a mighty chieftain in Africa.

                        4. An American teenager who's into anything MTV. (this could be a girl or boy)

                        5. A red headed, green-eyed Australian angel. (girl)

                        6. A descendant of South America's Lost civilizations (boy)

                        7. A descendant of Sumer. (boy)

            **4.** Will be giving credit to anyone who deserves it of course. ^o^

            **5.** Questions in the plot line anyone? Post it up. I'll answer it all in Chapter 5. ^_^ Bring it on! Feel like I should have elaborated more about Chapter 3 here in Chapter 4? I did too except **It** wouldn't let me. **It** made me write this instead so. **It**, is the little voice that every writer probably has. **It** pretty much decides what you should write and once it takes control well you'll have to go along with **It** because if you try to disagree with **It** you'll end up with a trash basket full of crumpled papers or a recycling bin full of your deleted attempts. I know.** It** happened to me.

            Read and review! ^_~  I'm going back to sleep now. _*yawns *_

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	6. Epiphany

**Disclaimer:**     _*whines*_ Do I have to keep doing this every chapter?

**K.Hikari:**          Afraid so. Lawyers are cunning creatures and I'd hate to be sued.

**Hiei:    **            The first thing we do once were done here is to kill all the lawyers.

**K.H.:    **            _*glomps Hiei*_  You just quoted Shakespeare!

**Hiei:    **            Baka! Get off me! _*tries to push off authoress who had glued herself to him*_

**Kurama:**          _*sighs*_  You can't kill all the lawyers. Their kind multiplies at an exponential rate.

**Disclaimer:**     Fine. Hikari is not doing this for money.

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**KH:**      _Ohayo minna-san!_ I'm glad to see that you're back for more. I've read my fic repeatedly and it's a miracle that a lot of you read it. Why? Coz I write like a kid! That's why. Well, it's not that bad...but uhm...it's not that great either. I've been randomly reading fics in fan fiction these past few days while I was recuperating and boy all I can say is that most of these authors are good. Really good. Their words just flowed. Me? I'm struggling. That's my problem. I can recognize talent in other people but I don't seem to have it in me. _*sighs*_ Jack-Of-All-Trades, master of none. _*sighs again*_

**Kuwabara:**      Uhmm, can I have some of these candies?

**KH:**      _*shudders*_ Woah. That wasn't like me. OH-KAY! Now where we? Ay yes, my dear and ever loyal reviewers ^_^ I can see some of you gagging already...tee hee...but anyway I really appreciate it when you people say this is good or that is bad but would PLEASE somebody TELL ME WHY it was good or bad? Please?

**Sammy** - Hmm, let's see, my personal Neil Gaiman fave work are the Sandman Chronicles and Books of Magic. YnM is Yami no Matsuei- a cool anime and even cooler manga but I haven't read it just seen it in AXN and I fell in love with it. As for other characters, they're in Chapter 5! ^_~  Hiei won't say it but he loves the truckload of sweet snow that you gave to him. I don't have a teacher like that but I did have a chemistry teacher once who thought she was so funny she turned our class into a stand-up comedy skit. She wasn't, believe me. @_@ ZZZZzzzz....

**Hiei:**                Hn.

**Kuwabara:**      Ano...can I have some of these candies?

**Hiei:**                _*shoving a lot of candies to Kuwabara's face before kicking him out of the room*_ Here take it and get out!

**KH:**                  ^_^ Ah well...**Kaeru Soyokaze**! Please don't mention the word airplane or plane to Hiei. He's still traumatized.

**Hiei:**                One more crack at my expense and I...

**Kurama:**          _*gives Hiei one of those annoying smiles of his*_ Or you'll what, Hiei-kun?

**Hiei:**                _Baka. *glowers and stomps off in the corner*_

**KH:**                  **Dragon Lady**-_baka ningens_! Oh wait; I'm a _ningen_ to...trust me not all of us are like that. How could they delete that funny story of yours! 

**Yusuke:**           Huh? That was a killing spree on **Kuwabara's** expense. In addition, the sake was spiked with blood.

**KH:**                  You have no sense of humor. Anyway, **Dragon Lady**, I followed the recipe and the cookies worked wonders! _Arigatou!_ ^_^

**Cute Anime Kitty** - Yay! A new face...er nick I mean. Welcome! Welcome!

**Orphan **- Another new reader! ^o^ I'm adding your suggestions to my list. ^_~

**Bloodfang** - Nice to see you again!

**Yayo** - ^o^ 

**Namidanotaiyo@aol.com** - Uhmmm...you didn't leave a nick but thanks for the info. I've re-uploaded Chapter 4 to reflect your comment. Thanks! Can you leave a nick next time so I'll know who you are? Your suggestions are going also to my list..._chotto matte_...your nick doesn't happen to be Inknamida, is it? Just checking. ^_^

            Apologize for the delayed update. Inspiration's kinda hard to come by these days. I had to struggle when I wrote this. I just hope I hadn't mess this chapter up.

**Kurama:**          Even though I'm here? _*makes a cute face*_

**K.H.:**    _*throws pillow at Kurama who ducks*_ And so here we are folks, Chapter 5. PLEASE tell me what you think, ok? If you hadn't finish watching/ reading CCS or YYH, I'm warning you that there are major spoilers here. However, if you're like me who doesn't mind spoilers then go ahead!

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**_Word Watch:_**

**Epiphany** = insight (_sumimasen_, I only have a thesaurus)

**Sumimasen / gomen** = excuse me/ sorry

**Genki** = lively / full of life

**Itai/ Itei **= ouch! / That hurt

**Hentai** = pervert

**-san** = added to a name to denote respect

**Hai **= affirmative reply

**Chigau** = you're wrong/ mistaken

**Shi-ne** = die

**Yare yare** = oh boy / oh well

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**Chapter 5: Epiphany**

**_England, Hiirigazawa Manor_**

            No Man should ever know his Fate. If he did, he would probably lose his will to live. After all, what is the point of waking up to each day if you know what was going to happen to everyone? More importantly, why even bother when you can see that things WILL happen whether you want to or not. 

            Destiny, it seemed to Eriol, had not only allowed him to glimpse the Book of Fate but had practically allowed him to read it from beginning to end. Death too had been lenient with him. She had ignored him and so trapped him in the body of an eleven-year-old boy while his soul and spirit aged with each passing year.

            Yes, to be a Man and to have so much power is a...curse.

            Ah, but the keyword here is Man, is it not? With Women, it was an entirely different story. Strange and fascinating creatures, these women are. Dangerous too, if he might add but still fascinating. Old, young, ugly, beautiful-it didn't matter. All were born with the power of Life and Death. The power to decide Life and Death. Most of them just don't get it though. A mother-to-be can decide whether her child lives or dies. A mother can make or break a child. God knows how history had changed all because of a single woman. There was Queen Elizabeth. Margaret Thatcher. Evita Peron. Madonna. A smile appeared in his face at this. A woman can withhold her touch to a lover and drive him insane. A woman can smile and drive all other thoughts away from your head. A woman can bring a large country to their knees. A woman had divided the Worlds. 

            Amazingly enough, they seemed frail and helpless creature that you long to either protect them or destroy them. Moreover, despite the turbulent and harsh history of how the world had treated women, they had remained resilient. They were stronger than they look. Some far stronger than anyone else.

            A woman had been his salvation. Well, she was a girl when he first met her. Eleven in fact. Her name? Sakura. One of Clow Reed's descendant, or rather his since he was one of Clow Reed's reincarnations. She had fulfilled his most ardent wish and that was to be not the most powerful sorcerer in the world. In doing so, she had gained more power than Clow Reed had ever wielded. Gaining one ability that had eluded the sorcerer-and that was the ability to control her magical powers. Lifted from his curse, he was now able to live normally. Well as normal as any 16-year old with the soul of someone decades older could. But more importantly, he could not read 'ol Destiny's book anymore...well, maybe a peek here and there...

            Beneath his feet, where a magical circle glowed, a planet lazily turned in its orbit. He was in his study. When he wasn't lost in his thoughts, it looked like any other study. Books would usually line the walls. Usually. Anyone stepping into the room now by accident would get a real shocker. Assuming they survived the initial reaction of course for beyond the door there was nothing. No walls or floors. Just the endless black of outer space broken by the light of a few stars and a few meandering planets. Time did not exist here.

            The symbols near his feet changed positions occasionally. He was looking at them, lost in thought. A planet passed over his head and two galaxies collided.

            I wonder, did Clow Reed foresee this too? Yes, of course he had. Did he find it funny that two of his descendants were more powerful than he was and were both women? Perhaps he found it ironic.

            The ghostly image of a _genki_ girl appeared to his right. Sakura. Guardian of the Sakura Cards. Formerly Clow's cards until she transformed them all thereby freeing him. A perpetual smile on her face. Her short light-brown hair held in place by a ribbon. She was more beautiful than ever now that she was 16. Eriol smiled. Li Shaolan was a very lucky boy indeed. 

            In front of him, a shadowy figure coalesce slowly becoming more distinct but never quite achieving form.

            Eriol frowned. The Shadow was approaching. It was slowly gaining power. Soon it would be awake. He turned to Sakura's ghostly image. He will not worry about this one. She had enough magic to protect herself. And there was Li. He too had great magic being he was another of Clow Reed's descendant. He will keep Sakura safe. 

            No. What he was worried about was the other descendant. To his left another ghostly image of a girl appeared. She too was smiling but unlike Sakura, her smile did not reach her eyes. 

            Miriya. Raven-haired and eyes that alternate between the deepest black to a beautiful amethyst shade depending on the way light fell on them. The girl with a troubled past and a long ancient heritage. She had great magic. Nevertheless, her full power was sealed from the moment of conception with a form of magick much older than time itself. She was the wild card in the deck.

            Seven stars flared in his magic circle. The warriors. Five cards blazed around him enclosing him and the other images in a pentagram. The Prince. The Twins. The Page of Swords. The Innocent. And the last card hovering behind the ghostly image of Miriya- the Lovers. 

            Behind him another image formed. He turned around and found himself looking at a boy wearing glasses and a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. A knowing smile appeared on the Eriol's face. Ah yes, the Boy-Who-Lived. He too had his demons like Miriya. He too had a role.

            "I wonder," Eriol said aloud to the solemn faced image of the boy. "Will you survive this year, Harry? Will you win against the Shadow that holds your nemesis or be consumed by it?"

            He turned back to Miriya's image, "My dear cousin, what will you choose?" The image continued to smile into nothingness while the card behind it turned slowly. The Lovers. To draw that card means that one must eventually make choices. It could also mean that someone close will be making choices or had already made a choice. 

            "Ah, but what will everyone's choice be?" he said to no one in particular. The room turned back to normal. Books once again lined the shelves and he was standing in the middle of a large rug.

            Now that he could no longer see that far in the future or see the different realities that will happen depending on one's choices; things now look very interesting indeed. He was sure of one thing though- where each living creature had several possible destinies-, Miriya only had two...

            Light or Darkness? Life or Death?

~*~*~*~*~*~

            It was a bad, bad idea. It seemed a good idea at that time but that was before Suppi began tearing Eriol's house apart in search for more sweets. All Akizuki wanted in giving her sibling a piece of candy was for him to loosen up. It was his darn fault anyway. If he could just NOT be so damn snooty. He was almost as bad as their older brother Yue was. She shuddered as he remembered him. That guy was hopeless. Clow Reed had neglected to give Yue a heart. She stopped. Oh wait, no, he had a heart; he just had trouble expressing it. She giggled. But not to Touya. She giggled again. Well at least Yukito was better.

            There was a resounding crash somewhere up in the second floor. She frowned. Master Eriol was going to be mad when he finds out that Suppi had wrecked the ancient chandelier that had hung there for ages. She ran out to catch the mad feline and crashed into another girl. Both ended up on the floor.

            _"Itai..."_

            "Mistress!"

            "Drop the Mistress, Nakuru." 

            Nakuru gave a big wide innocent smile to the dark-eyed girl that she called Mistress. She found her just as adorable as Eriol and just as confusing at times. Eriol had found Miriya when she was a baby inside the wreckage of her parent's house. She wasn't bawling her eyes out like any normal baby would but instead stared directly at Eriol and held out her chubby little hands. Nakuru remembered Eriol saying something to the baby like, "Ah, so you're the one calling to me." And Miriya had given him a toothless smile. 

            "What are you grinning at?" Miriya asked suspiciously. When Akizuki grinned like that, she was usually up to no good.

            Nakuru looked at her innocently. Well, she wasn't up to something. Just remembering how Eriol had looked when he first carried the baby Miriya. I mean here was this 11-year-old kid carrying a small baby. It was soooo adorable. Eleven wasn't technically his age but hey at that time, he wasn't aging. Of course, now that he was aging, he was even yummier in a sixteen-year-old body. She started to giggle.

            "Eh, Akizuki?" Miriya groaned. "Can you not like broadcast your thoughts?" God, first it was Yue, now Akizuki? She could hear the guardian's mind voice. Hell, she could see what Akizuki was imagining. 

            Akizuki laughed, "Oh sorry. Can't I have a crush on him, ne?"

            "NO! BECAUSE YOU ARE A PERVERTED GUARDIAN! YOU'RE NOT EVEN A GIRL BUT YOU DRESS AND ACT LIKE ONE! YOU PRETEND TO BE 17 EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE DECADES OLDER THAN THAT! _HENTAI! HENTAI!_"

            In one swift movement, Nakuru was up and chasing the mad Suppi who had somehow wandered near the kitchen, overheard the conversation and was now shouting to the whole world what he thought exactly of his sister.

            "YOU'RE THE ONE TO TALK! YOU'RE NOT EVEN A CAT FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! I MEAN, WHO'VE HEARD OF A CAT WITH BUTTERFLY WINGS! AND FOR YOUR INFORMATION I CAN ACT LIKE I'M 17 BECAUSE I STILL LOOK LIKE ONE YOU JEALOUS SUGAR ADDICT!" Miriya heard Akizuki shout back as she chased the winged-cat.

            "I AM NOT! I'LL TELL ERIOL YOU SAID THAT!" came Suppi's indignant reply. The sugar he ingested was still not obviously out of his system.

            There was another crash. Miriya winced. There goes the Ming vase. She got up. I suppose someone has to catch them before they demolished the house. 

            "She never learns does she?"

            Miriya looked up to see Kaho Mizuki's smiling face. Mizuki had just come home from the university were she was pursuing her doctorate degree in Mathematics. She smiled at the older woman. She liked having Ms. Kaho around. She was just like a mother to everyone in the house and Miriya always looked forward to weekends. Ms. Kaho would always spend her weekends with them.

            "According to Akizuki's warped logic, if you feed Suppi enough sugar, he'll soon develop a tolerance for it," Miriya said wryly.

            "I see," Mizuki said amused. "Do you need help in stopping those two?"

            Miriya shook her head, "No I can handle it." She took a few steps forward then stopped, "Eriol's in his study. He hasn't come out of it ever since we talked inside about this Hogwarts School."

            Mizuki smiled at the girl, "What about you?"

            Miriya shrugged, "I don't really want to go. It's not like I don't know how to use magic." She bit her lips and Mizuki saw a shadow cross her face. Mizuki met the young girl's steady gaze as Miriya continued.

            "Eriol says I'll find the answers to my questions there."

            "Questions?"

            Miriya nodded, "_Hai_. Like, why I'm like this for starters."

            "What do you mean?" Mizuki probed gently. She knew that the face that Miriya presented to the world was a facade to hide something that was bothering her.

            "Like something's holding me back. Like there's something I should remember or know but I can't no matter how I try...Like feeling I could do more but I can't...but I should." Miriya sighed in frustration, "Am I making sense, Mizuki-_san_?"

            "Every teenager feels like that at some point in their young life."

            Miriya shook her head vehemently. A distant look came across her face. 

            "I have a recurring dream, Mizuki-_san_. In my dream, I reached out to the sun and I knew that if I wanted to I could extinguish its light. It scared me because..."

            "Because you think you could do it?"

            Dark eyes met hazel brown ones.

            "_Chigau_. In my heart, I know I could."

            If Mizuki was surprised by what Miriya said, she did not show it. The young girl had spoken with such calm conviction. In that moment, as she looked into the girl's eyes, she caught a glimpse of something ancient stir behind its dark depths.

            The moment was broken as something went flying through the second story window. From one of the kitchen windows, both could see a coffee table stuck to the lawn with colorful glass shards around it.

            _"SHI-NE!"_

_            "HENTAI!"_

            Apparently, the two guardians were still at each other's throats.

            "_Yare, yare._ I'd better go get those two before they do more damage than a spell could fix."

            Mizuki watched the young girl walked away.

            "He will not let the Darkness take you," she said softly when Miriya was gone.

**TBC**

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**K****.H.:**                Sometimes, when I write a chapter I knew exactly what's going to happen. Sometimes I have no idea. Oh well. _Gomen_, not much action. Just a lot of introspection.  Just tell me what you think of this chapter, k? If you have any questions, just ask. Suggestions and comments are more than welcome. Please tell me WHY you like this fic or not. Use that 'lil button at the bottom of this page. ^_^ _Arigatou_ and R and R!

**Kuwabara:**      My tooth hurts…

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	7. Poetry

**DISCLAIMER:** For the love of God, don't you people still get it?! This is Fan Fiction. **_FAN FICTION I TELL YOU!!!_** _*mouth starts to froth*_

**Kuwabara:**      _*reads from a piece of paper* _Kodomo Hikari does not own YYH, CCS, YnM and Harry Potter. They belong to their respective creators and for that, she is eternally grateful. She loves them so much she decided to have a little fun with them. 

**Everyone:**       O_o

**Hiei:**                Did you just write that crap?

**Kuwabara:**      _Ano na,_ why are you always pinning every screw up on me? Yusuke wrote this.

**Hiei:**                Figures. You're both blockheads.

_(Both boys fight.)_

**Yusuke:**           _*sighs*_ Oh well. Major spoiler alerts for YYH, CCS, YnM and Harry Potter Book 5!      

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**K.H.:    **            For my readers, who in a way have become my friends too...I have a treat at the end of this chapter. ^-^ I also have a mailing list where I can interact with my readers personally, inform them of updates and respond to FAQs. If you want to be part of the mailing list, please leave an email address. ^_^

**Inknamida **- Thank you for the compliment. It means a lot because English is not my first language. ^-^

**Kaeru Soyokaze** - To show my support...I've placed an advert of you in my bio. ^-^ _Chigau_ means you're wrong or you're mistaken in Japanese. 

**Dragon Lady Supreme** - So that's where Kurama's white rose whip went ^_~ I've also place an advert of you in my bio.

**Orphan** - I love CCS too.^o^

**Sammy** - Thanks for the gifts. ^-^ I regret not being able to try the books you've mentioned...yet. Epiphany means insight or just contemplating something. _Gomen_, I only have a thesaurus.

**Cute Anime Kitty** - Arigatou!

**Bloodfang** - Gomen. Gomen. I'm sorry for that but aside from being an action/adventure story this is also a mystery. Therefore, I am going to give the readers one puzzle piece at a time and then they can piece it together along with the characters in my story. ^_^

**magical_banig** - Hello my non-_otaku_ friend (Sorry. Couldn't resist throwing that Japanese word in-I know you hate it, hehehe). Thanks for the review. ^-^ Hope your computer's ok now. Don't skip the disclaimer part please so you won't be confused as to the nature of a fanfic. Read **_Meikyuri's "Fanfictionist's Handbook" _**(). It's a lot of help. Peace.

**Ghost Whisper** - Woah. O_O Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I'll refrain from asking difficult questions from now on. ^-^ This fic is enough of a puzzle for now. 

            Chapter 6 is here. More puzzle pieces will be given away. ^-^ First one to put it together wins...my respect (hey, I'm a confusing person so if you figured it out man have you got brains ^v^)

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**_Word Watch:_**

**advert** = Ok, it's not in the story but it's short for advertisement. I'm lazy. So sue me.

**IC** = in character

**Imoto/ Imouto** = sister (relation)

**Tzolkin** = Sacred Year for the lost civilizations of South Americas

**Daes dae' Mar** = the Great Game (I borrowed this term from Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time novel series.)

**Amerindians** = Short for American Indians. Columbus stubbornly believed that America was India so he called everyone there Indians.

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**Chapter 6: Poetry**

            Eriol heard a soft knock on his door. Seconds later, it opened and Kaho Mizuki entered the library. She gave him a soft smile as he gestured to the couch in front of his own. Before taking her seat, she walked over to the child-man and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.

            Eriol looked up to the beautiful smiling face of Kaho Mizuki. His friend. His confidante. His lover. But most importantly, his soul mate. Another irony in life. Kaho was a descendant of Clow Reed's paternal side. In the past, the paternal side did not exactly approved of Clow Reed. And here he was, Clow Reed's reincarnation, in love with a woman from a family that hated him. Perhaps what was miraculous was that she loved him back. She saw through his young body and saw a man. There relationship was not a secret to a few trusted friends who in one way or another had been touched by the web that Clow Reed had spun when he was alive. However, to the rest of the world, they were discreet. After all, he was in a 16-year-old body and she was a 26-year-old woman.

            "You missed dinner, Mizuki," he said, smiling at her.

            She took her seat and crossed her long legs before replying to him, "I grabbed something to eat along the way. Was held up at the university. I had to finish a few things since I'll be gone for a while." She brushed a reddish-blonde strand of hair away from her face.

            "Do you like poems, Mizuki?" he asked her.

            She looked at him, one fine eyebrow arched in question. He was up to something again.

            Eriol grinned then started to recite,

**_                                                "In the First Sun, Water ended the World,_**

**_                                                The Second Sun brought the Divine Wind,_**

**_                                                While Quakes and Storms heralded the end of the Third Sun._**

**_                                                And as the Fourth Sun entered, the Jaguar walked the Land._**

**_                                                When the Fifth Sun will rise on the Tzolkin, the Cadmeans_**

**_                                                Will once again walk this world and decide its Fate."_**

            Mizuki looked thoughtful for a while, "Sun?" Then understanding lit up her face. "Ah, yes...the ancient civilizations in the South Americas use the word Sun to signify an Age. The First Sun ended with the Deluge, the second was a war between gods, while the Third was a war of Gods and Men that destroyed most of civilization..."

            "And laid the foundations of the 10 Commandments," Eriol finished for her.

            "But what about the Fourth and Fifth Sun?" she asked. 

            "We are near the end of the Fourth Sun, Mizuki. In this age, great and terrible beings have risen and done great and terrible things. They may not have the power of the old ones but they are powerful nonetheless."

            "Such as?" Mizuki asked.

            "Such as Hitler. Such as Bin Laden. Such as the wizard Voldemort."

            "Such as Clow Reed," Mizuki added quietly.

            Eriol stopped, stared at her then smiled, "Ah, I suppose you are right. He...I mean I could have chosen to use my gift to take over this world and extend my life..." 

            "But you chose instead to make Clow Cards and a rather unusual set of guardians," she said, amused at his reaction.

            He shrugged, "For some reason, world domination does not appeal to me."

            "You prefer to watch, ne, Eriol?" she teased.

            His eyes twinkled, "I guess you're right...but we digress. The Toltec called this age the Jaguar because to them the Jaguar was a symbol of both Life and Death.

            "And the people you've just mentioned have both played with Life and Death."

            "Exactly Mizuki." A tea set suddenly floated towards them and started pouring drinks for the two. A short while later, two steaming cups of tea was placed before them and the tea set wandered back somewhere in the library.

            Mizuki sipped her tea then set it down, "If anyone told me that it was absurd that an extinct civilization could foresee the future I would have believe them." She sighed dramatically, "But since I'm all tangled up with Clow Reed anything is possible. You mentioned a Fifth age..."

            Eriol took a small piece of sweets that had suddenly materialized on the coffee table in front of them before answering, " Uhm, yes. The Fifth Sun...the beginning of the end of the Fourth Sun and the beginning of the Fifth Sun will commence on the Sacred Year or what the _Amerindians_ call the _Tzolkin_."

            "The significance being...?"

            "The significance being that the _Cadmeans_ will once again walk this world."

            "The Cadmeans? You mean the Ancients?"

            "Yes, Mizuki. _The Cadmeans. The Ancients. The Aeons_. They have many names. I just call them the _Endless_ for convenience. The _Endless_ could be our salvation or our destroyer."

            Kaho gave him a wry smile, "For someone who knows all these you seem very calm."

            Eriol returned her look, "Ah, but there's really nothing we can do. The players for this _Daes dae' Mar_, this Great Game, had already been chosen a long time ago."

            "And when will the Tzolkin occur, Eriol?"

            "Based on the Long Count Calendar of the Mayan's...on Miriya's and Yukito's birthday."

            She sat still as the implications set in. Knowledge handed down from her family plus the information she learned from Eriol as she stayed with him combined to let her see where this was going. She finally understood why the two families did not approve of the union between Clow Reed's parents much less Clow Reed himself. But then, even if Clow Reed weren't born would this have never happened?

            "The _Wheel of Time_ will continue to turn, Mizuki, with or without Clow Reed. Someone else will be chosen instead." Eriol said, reading her thoughts.

            "It is not fair to the girl," Mizuki said sadly.

            "That is why you will be her guide." He pushed a golden box in front of her. "Just as you helped Sakura get her second chance with the Judging so will you again help Miriya."

            Mizuki lifted the golden lid. Inside the box, lying on soft white cloth, was a deck of the strangest looking cards to the casual observer. They were longer than most cards and a disc surrounded by symbols of the star, moon and sun dominated the design at the back. Unlike the Clow and Sakura cards, this deck was all purple, gold and silver. She lifted one card and saw that its name was The Silver. On its face was a young silver girl, her eyes close, hands crossed on her chest. She had a tiara on her forehead. Surrounding the image of the girl were stylized border versions of the back design but now the disc had wings and the wings seemed to enfold the silver girl in a loving gesture.

            "Clow cards?" she asked. They were the strangest Clow Cards she has ever seen and Clow Reed was a pretty strange man by anyone's standards to begin with.

            Eriol shook his head, "Clow made 2 cards. One for himself. One for his beloved sister."

            "Imoto?" she asked, surprised. "I didn't know he had a sister."

            "He did. Nevertheless, he could only see her once a year. The families separated them when she was born. They did not want him corrupting her with his ideas." A flicker of sadness crossed his face. "I'm sorry, Mizuki. I have Clow's memories. I know that he loved his sister. I know of his pain when they were separated. I feel his sorrow when she died."

            "How did she die?"

            "Magick. She was born with it just as him but her body was weak and so it slowly killed her. The families hoped to seal that magic away from her and forbade him to see her but they both found a way to see each other once a year. He made these cards as a way for him to be there for her even if he was not physically there. She was happiest when she was with him. These cards bear not only Clow Reed's magic but hers as well."

            "Why are you giving it to me?" Mizuki was confused.

            "I want you to give it to Miriya. She has earned them."

            For the first time, Mizuki noticed that the Silver card was warm to the touch. She returned it to the deck and found that the entire deck was warm too.

            "The cards draw their power from the Master or Mistress of the Deck. Once the Master or Mistress dies, the deck grows cold and become ordinary cards, "Eriol said.

            "But these are warm."

            Eriol smiled but his dark blue eyes were troubled, "Ah, that is the interesting part. It seems that they did not die after all but simply waited for their next master."

            Mizuki looked at Eriol. Like him, she had the gift of seeing the near future. What she saw was a tangled web. And that bothered her.

            A few miles away, a fox woke from a troubled dream that he could not remember and a boy with a lightning shaped scar on his forehead screamed silently in his sleep.

**TBC**

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**K.H.:**    When I could not update these past few weeks, I spent my time instead revising and editing the previous chapters taking into account reviewers' feedback. I fixed what needed fixing. 

            Now for the promised treat...anyone here wants to be part of this fic? This is a FANFIC after all. You have two choices:

**1.** Be one of the Hogwarts students. Give me your name, what you look like, how you want your character to be (a short description), and how you want to interact with the cast.

**2.** Remember the seven new characters I will introduce later on? I have made a few changes. How would you like to be one of them? My condition still stands though. Pick one. 

            **_1._** An exotic Egyptian beauty that's Harry's age. (Girl)

            **_2._** A proud boy who is a year ahead of Harry and of Aryan descent.

            **_3._** Son of a mighty chieftain in Africa.

            **_4._** An American teenager who is into anything MTV. (This could be a girl or boy)

            **_5._** Australian angel. (Girl)

            **_6._** A descendant of South America's Lost civilizations (boy)

            **_7._** A descendant of Sumer. (Boy)

            My only request when you name yourself is that you be named after real or fictional characters in history, myths, legends, prehistory, ancient or lost civilizations etc. Feel free to provide descriptions and powers. The more outlandish the power and description the greater the chance of being pick. 

            I know a lot of you are going to react on the Eriol-Mizuki pairing. All I can say is that you'll have to watch the entire CCS series to understand. Or you could surf the Net for more info. Second, don't ask why the action is taking to long. There's a reason for everything. Ever chapter, every item will have a relevance to the story. I do not include things or situations here on a silly whim. Third, before I let all the charas meet up I have to provide a little background first because I don't want throw them in there like some WWF Royal Rumble melee. The characters all came from different Animeverses (Anime Universe) and it's not easy to tie them all together. Fourth, I read way too much Stephen King and Anne Rice so I think they may have influence my writing style. As to whether I'll earn as much money as these two has yet to be seen.  Fifth, I didn't expect the story to turn out this way. What I had in mind was a simple straightforward plot that should be finished in a couple of chapters. Instead, the more I write each chapter, the more I am drawn to this world, and the more I realized that I had just stumbled into the proverbial rabbit hole that led Alice to Wonderland. So don't worry dear readers…we're both making this journey together.

            So go ahead. Take your time. Knock yourself out. It will be awhile before Chapter 7 arrives. Email me or push that purple button at the bottom of the screen. R and R! Ja ne! ^-^


	8. Morning Gloomy

**DISCLAIMER:**  If you're still wondering what I'm doing here...I'm necessary. Without me, this fic is illegal. I'm THAT POWERFUL mwahahaha!!!

**Yusuke:**                       Someone's in a good mood. 0_o

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**K. Hikari:**         _Konnichiwa!_ Everyone's well wishes had been received. My mother's ok now. She's out of the hospital and feeling better but still little weak. My sister is nursing her. Thank you. Thank you all my friends (those in the real world, those in my head O_o and those in fanfiction too)! ^o^

**Kurama****:**          See? What did I tell you?

**K. Hikari:**         Yeah. Love you too, you stupid fox. .  _*__makes choking and gagging sounds *_

**Kurama****:**          Love you too. _*laughs*_

**K.H.:    **            Too bad. You're not real. ^_~

**Kurama****:**          There you go again... ^_~

**Hiei****:    **            Cut the crap both of you. You're making me sick.

**Kurama****:**          You need a girlfriend, Hiei.

**K.H.:                **Or a boyfriend. ^_~

**Hiei****:    **            O_o

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**K.H.:**                _Mabuhay__ mga kababayan!_ O_o Sorry folks. Just wanted to greet fellow Filipinos in Fanfiction. Most of them seem to be playing in Slam Dunk. I AM PROUD of my heritage no matter what the rest of the world thinks. _Oy__, kung nagbabasa kayo, mag iwan naman kayo ng review o para I'll know your there_. ^_~ Oh yeah, before I forget...**_CSC girls_** this is for you since you only got to watch the Filipino dubbed version of YYH.

**Yu Yu Hakusho** - YYH for short. Ghost Fighter in Philippine TV. This anime will always have a special place in my heart cause I met you guys Hi to Sol, Nancy, Gladys, Grace, Maureen, Chaychay and to Nancy's brother who took my Hiei drawing and placed it in his dorm and told his fellow college classmates that HE made it (Bad! Bad brother!). Hey, that was for your sister! ^_~ That's why I chose YYH it for my first fanfic. Gladys, when your baby's old enough let her read this...on second thought PG-13 _pala__ too_. I changed the rating for future violence and the rather unusual relationships with each of the charas. ^_~

**Urameshi**** Yusuke** - Eugene

**Kuwabara**** Kazuma** - Alfred 

**Minamino**** Shuichi / Youko Kurama** - Dennis _(who thinks up these stupid names anyway?__ .)_

**Jaganashi**** Hiei **- Vincent _(Oro? o_O_o)_

**Keiko **- Jenny _(she has the most annoying voice in the Philippine version .)_

**Kuwabara**** Shizuru** - Susie

**Botan** – Charlene… _(OMG…faints)_

**Genkai**- Master Jeremiah _(whaaat? 0_o)_

**Koenma**- Master Jericho _(hellooo? somebody kill the translators please!)_

            One more thing...can I promote my sister's fanfic? You can access it at This page doesn't accept hyperlinks. Check it out, ok? We fanfictionists can help each other by giving each other a wider audience to read our respective works. Since not all of us can afford the premium services offered by **Fanfiction.net** the best we can do is place adverts of each others' works.^-^

            Now to the readers who had the time and were kind enough to leave a review:

**Sammy** - Thank you for kitty Kurama and the host of other gifts. ^_~ My mother appreciated the card but I had to hide the sweets coz it might aggravate her diabetes. Oh, a stray cat always sits and stares at my window every morning. His coloring reminds me of Hiei _(you know, all black with a white starburst on his head-well not really a starburst but close enough)._ I tried calling to him several times but he just sits there and stares at me in a very Hiei-like way, then he just leaves only to be back the next day on the very same spot. Weird, huh? ^_~

**Orphan** - Hi! I try not to disappoint. 

**Dragon Lady Supreme** - Er, Kurama knows. He's a master thief, remember? ^-^

**Ghost Whisper** - Thank you. 

**Shiranai**** Seito** - _Sugoi__!_ Your character submission was incredibly detailed. I'll file it. ^_~

**Kaeru**** Soyokaze** - _Ne_, what's a Pug? Ehehe, I guess you hadn't given me one yet. ^_~

**Pippin Skyweasley** - Wow. You have a busy schedule and yet you somehow found the time to read and review. _Arigatou__!_

**Kawaii**** Kitsune Cub** - Nice to see you again! _Arigatou__._ For caring and for the compliment. ^-^

**Bloodfang** - Thanks for caring. Yes, I'm adding your name to my mailing list. ^-^

**Maxine Liu** - We'll see, k? _Arigatou__!_

**Meikyuri** - You're welcome. _Domo arigatou_ for reading my fic. Flame me if any of the OCs morph into _Mary Sues_ or _Gary Stus_.    

            **_Note:_** If you don't understand Filipino, that's ok. You didn't miss anything. ^_~ In this chapter, we hear the side of the _Shinigami's_ and how they were pulled into this mess.

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**_Word Watch_**

**JuOhCho** = Bureau of Dead 

**Sugoi** = cool! wow! _(K.H.: You get the drift)_

**ChiJou** = Land of the Living

**EnMacho** = one of the ten government bureaus of the JuOhCho

**Shokan**** Division** = in charge of summoning the dead

**Chara**** =** short for character

**Shinigami** = god of death

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**Chapter 7: Morning Gloomy**

            Tatsumi Seiichirou gazed out of the huge picture window of the 5-star hotel suite that he and the _Rei__ Tantei_ were staying in for a few days. Outside, it was raining cats and dogs and a slight fog was beginning to form on the London streets below. The night was dark. No stars could be seen in the sky. Nothing seems to be wrong and yet everything was wrong. If that made sense.

            He crossed his legs, letting his tall lanky frame sink into the soft couch. A cup of steaming coffee was in his hands. From time to time, he took sips from it. Near him, on the bed were several opened folders and his brown trench coat that he had thrown carelessly when he entered his room.

            It was summer in England. It was also raining. It was a wet, wet summer as if somehow the weather spirits were making up for last year's drought. He ran a hand through his dark brown hair messing it up. His head was hurting. He had been poring over the files ever since they had gotten on the plane. His glasses were lying forgotten on the bedside table.

            A slight smile played on his lips. If Tsuzuki and Watari learned that he had stayed in a 5-star suite they would flip. Everyone back in _JuOhCho_ knew he was a tightwad. Everyone was always grumbling about his way of cutting departmental costs. Especially Watari who needed funds for his wild experiments and Tsuzuki who wasn't so happy when he learned they were cutting down on ordering sweets.

            He shrugged. It didn't matter. The money they were spending wasn't from the _JuOhCho_ anyway. That's why they could afford to live with style. Anyway, the Ministry of the Dead here was desperate and they were practically begging for help. Right now, all Tatsumi would do is just snap his fingers and they would all go catering to his every request. It was tempting to abuse the privilege. He would not of course.

            His thoughts returned to the day that all these started.

~*~*~*~*~*~

            The day had started out like any other day in _Meifu__. Meifu_, the Land of the Dead, where all year round they had cherry blossoms and where it was always spring. _Meifu_, just one of the vast networks that processed the dead. The exact reflection of _ChiJou_-the Land of the Living. _Meifu_, where you could walk down the mirror image of Tokyo but instead of living people, you meet the dead.

            Like all days, Asato Tsuzuki was late. Konoe, the old chief of _EnmaCho's__ Shokan_ _Division_ was fuming at the violet-eyed _shinigami's_ lateness and no one could approach him without risking having his or her necks snapped. Watari, the resident blond doctor who fancied himself a scientist had accidentally made multiple clones of 003, his pet owl. Said owl or should we say owls were now flapping madly all over the _EnMacho_ building disrupting everyone's work. The only one who did not seem to be affected by the Monday madness was the young green-eyed _shinigami_, Hisoka. Perhaps, Tatsumi thought, since the boy was Tsuzuki's partner nothing could really upset the boy anymore. Tsuzuki was, for lack of a better word, a dufus. The most powerful _shinigami_ in _Meifu_ but a dufus nonetheless. Tatsumi had to smile at this.

            "Kurosaki-kun," Tatsumi called out to the boy.

            A brownish-blonde head appeared from behind a mountain of paperwork. Green eyes met Tatsumi's own blue ones. "Huh?" Hisoka asked. He was apparently dazed by the paperwork that had accumulated over the weekend.

            "Where is Tsuzuki-san? Why isn't he doing his share of the paperwork?" the secretary of the _Shokan__ Division_ asked in his usual stern manner.

            Hisoka shrugged and frowned at the same time. Just then, the door burst open and a frazzled but handsome black haired _shinigami_ came running in. His clothes were in disarray. His hair, a mess.

            "Waaaiii! Tatsumi-san!" Tsuzuki called out cheerily. "_Gomen__!_ I was going out and I met this old woman who was lost so I went out my way to help her. But then she was hungry so I had to buy her breakfast and I sorta lost track of time and..."

            "Where have I heard that before?" Tatsumi said to no one in particular. He was obviously not listening to the other shinigami.

            "Tatsumi-san," Tsuzuki whined. "You're not listening."

            Hisoka, the boy who will forever stay in the body of a 16-year-old, snapped his fingers suddenly, "Oh, I remember. That's Excuse No. 1496."

            Tsuzuki gaped at his partner.

            Tatsumi nodded, "Oh yes. I believe he used that excuse last month?" He nodded to Hisoka. 

            Hisoka nodded back, "One month and 3 days ago to be exact."

            Tsuzuki could only stare at the two helplessly. Finally, all he could say was, "You guys are mean."

            Just then five 003s zoomed in the place followed by two trainees trying to subdue the birds and a harried Watari. Konoe screamed at Watari to get the birds out of the place before slamming the door to his office shut. 

            A wide grin spread across Tsuzuki's face as he greeted his friend," A good day, huh?"

            The blond scientist smiled back wearily, "Yeah. Just peachy." Suddenly he caught sight of Tatsumi's expression. Watari gave the secretary a sheepish smile before shouting at the two trainees, "NO! NO! That's NOT how to catch her! You'll only panicked her!" He went after them, wringing his long blond hair in frustration.

            "I need coffee," Tatsumi said as he felt the beginnings of a headache. Mondays were always the worst day of the week followed closely by Friday where everyone was simply spacing out of his or her job in anticipation of the weekend.

            "I need a raise," Hisoka deadpanned. "I'm doing the work of two _shinigamis_ here."

            "We don't have the budget," Tatsumi replied.

            "Then take it out of that slacker's pay," Hisoka gestured to Tsuzuki.

            "Waaiii! Hisoka-kun don't be mean!" Tsuzuki was doing his best impression of a wounded puppy look. 

            Just then, a brilliant green light flashed followed by a loud explosion that knocked every one of their feet. The entire building shook and glass windows shattered. There were screams and suddenly everything was eerily quiet.

            "Oy! Watari-san!" Someone yelled from underneath the debris. Slowly, people were picking themselves up and assessing the damage. "What did YOU DO THIS TIME?!" Another yelled. Explosions were quite normal in _Meifu_ especially with Watari around.

            The scientist looked dazed and confused from where he was lying on the floor. "But... but, I didn't do anything," he stammered. 003 was hovering and cooing worriedly over her master. Somehow, the explosion had knocked the bird back into one.

            Just then, everyone straightened up as they sensed an icy wave of wrongness sweep the place. It felt unclean. Dirty. WRONG. The sky outside darkened even though it was morning. Tatsumi felt his own body grow cold. He slowly stood up from where he fell, pushing aside stacks of documents, various knickknacks and a chair that had fallen on him. If he were alive, he would have suffered serious injuries. However, like most inhabitants in _Meifu_, they were dead so in a way they were immortal. 

            "Tsuzuki, are you alright?" he asked the other _shinigami_. Tsuzuki pulled out a shard of glass that had lodged on his shoulder. Blood gushed out then slowly trickled as his body started to heal at a pace incredible even for _shinigamis_.

            "I'm alright," Tsuzuki replied. His purple eyes then widened. "It's Hisoka that we should worry about!" He scrambled towards his fallen partner.

            Tatsumi followed his gazed and gasped. The boy Hisoka was lying face up, unmoving. Eyes open and staring into nothingness. Something was VERY wrong with the boy.

            Someone screamed. People were gathering near the destroyed windows and pointing. Tatsumi shouted an order at Watari to get Hisoka to the hospital while he himself moved to the windows to see what was attracting so much attention. 

            It is said that it is impossible to scare a god of death but what he saw on the windows made his blood run cold. For the first time in his undead life, he was afraid. 

            The once beautiful and blooming cherry trees were now dying before his very eyes. Winter had come for _Meifu_ at last.

**TBC**

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**K.H.:**                Still accepting character submissions. ^_~  **_Moon_****_ Hee Jun_**, your music video ROCKS! **_JTL_**! How can I live _Without Your Love_? **_S_** stands for_ Supreme_. Yay, **_Kang Ta, Hye Sung_** and **_Ji-Hoon_**! **_Hyde_** you look sooo much like **_Sakuya_****_ Kira/Lucifer_** from Angel Sanctuary _*hearts*. **Ayumi**** Hamazaki. **Ayumi!** Black Eyed Peas**_ thank you for singing about the ghettos in the Philippines and rapping in Filipino too. **_Paolo_**, the Moonlight does shine on Paris after the Sun goes down...ooohhh, I feel a songfic coming...R and R, minna! Gomen, this chapter's short. Ja' ne. ^o^

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	9. Wind of Tragedy

**DISCLAIMER:** ... Buzz off! No one is making any money here. 

**Yusuke:**                       Now it's in a bad mood.  0_o

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**K.H.:**    Did you people check my sister's fanfic yet? ^_^ Hey, she also has a **Fictionpress** novel. You can read it at story's pretty dark and angsty. Might not be for everyone but it's good. Her ideas are _sugoi!_ Now why didn't I think of that! ^_~ Oh yeah, she's waaaay better than me when it comes to naming her OCs. 

            Waaiii! ^o^ Reviewers! Ok, here goes. First come, first serve.

**Dragon Lady Supreme **- Here's what Kurama told me. He was waiting for you to see the light. I'm gonna use those items that you've given to me in my story. Especially that fan. ^_^ Hope you're feeling better.

**Kawaii Kitsune Cub** - That's ok. Homework is also important. ^-^ I read your first fic and your bio. Tee hee, I guess all schools are the same no matter what dimension they are in. ^_~

**Kaeru Soyokaze **- Oh! A pug! Yeah! I saw it! Thanks! ^o^  _Kawaii!_

**Bloodfang -** I think I know where you got the roses...^_~ Thanks! At least you know how to cheer a person up. ^-^

**Sammy -** _Sugoi! _I hope your Filipino teacher is nice. If not, I'm going to send Hiei over there hehehe. ^-^ The cat's back! I left food this time. ^_^ 

**Nancy -** Thanks for leaving a message friend!

**Shiozaki -** That was some teaser! ^_^ Poor Kyo. Ok, here's the next chapter. Took a while because I was stuck. Plus, my workload just doubled here in the real world . Oh and your cliffy is just evil @_@ Taka and Kyo 4-ever! Yay!

**Pippin Skyweasley** - Oro? I guess I did get a wee bit carried away with the adjectives, ehehe yep, that I did. @_@

            _*holds up a box*_ Ne, guess what's inside this? It holds strips of paper with the names of everyone who left a review. _*shakes box then picks two strips out*_ And the two reviewers who gets a cameo in this chapter are _*TA-DAN!*_ **Cute** **Anime Kitty** and **Yayo**! If you want to appear in this fic leave a descript and a nick if you don't have a bio. If you don't, don't throw a tantrum if I accidentally described you wrong.

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**_Word Watch_**

**Kawaii =** cute, nice

**Descript =** short for description - I'm mad for shortcuts. ^_^

**Shikigami = **powerful spirits who can be summoned by those whom they have sworn their loyalty

**Chi =** energy possess by all living things

**Sakura =** cherry trees you baka! ^-^ could also mean a thing of passing beauty

**Fuda =** rectangular paper charms with spells or enchantments on them

**Manga =** definitely not the fruit you baka! It's a Japanese comic book!

**Yamite **= stop!

**Daijobu =** Are you ok?

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**Chapter 8:       Wind of Tragedy**

            An eerie hushed fell over the whole of _Meifu._ Shadows lengthened. From where Tatsumi was standing from the shattered windows he could see the inhabitants of_ Meifu_ stopped whatever it was they were doing and stare into the horizon. He looked around him to see that everyone else in the wrecked office was standing still. The two trainees were helping up an obviously shaken Konoe. What were their names? _Yayo and Kitty_? He shook himself. This was ridiculous! Here he was thinking about the names of two female _shinigamis_-in-training while something was evidently wrong with _Meifu_. 

            Watari was still gaping at the scene. 

            "Watari!" he yelled. The blond scientist jumped at Tatsumi's yell and turned to him with dazed eyes. "I told you to get Hisoka to the hospital!"

            "I...oh yes, mon!" Watari scooted over to where Tsuzuki was busy throwing stuff of Hisoka's unconscious body. The boy had been nearly buried by an avalanche of office belongings.

            "Well?" Tatsumi said to everybody. "What are you people standing there for?"

            Everyone snapped back to reality. So far so good. Get everyone moving or doing something to avoid panic. He was feeling panicky himself. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not even when a demon possessed Tsuzuki and nearly destroyed this section of _Meifu_ did he ever felt this sense of wrongness. Besides, the trees never started dying and even then, when half the place was on fire the climate never changed. It was making the hairs on his skin stand on end.

            "Si...sir?" a frightened voice said near him. He looked down and found himself staring at the wide-eyes of one of the trainees. She reminded him of a kitten.

            "What is it?" His voice came out harsh. The girl shuddered. He was sorry. He didn't mean  to sound that way.

            "Look," the girl pointed towards the horizon. When she saw her dark-haired friend moving closer to the window, she called out in a scared voice, "Yayo! No!"

            The brunette stopped then backed away. "My god, what's happening?" the girl said.

            A few people where now staring at the horizon. Tatsumi could see why. It was beginning to darken. It wasn't the kind of dark that one expects from the coming dusk. It was the kind of darkness that seemed to absorb all light. All Life.

            The horizon was fast disappearing under a dark mist. He heard someone scream. His eyes were drawn to the soul of a young man down on the streets below. The soul fell to its knees and clutched its head all the while wailing in pain before finally vanishing.

            Pandemonium broke loose. Everyone was now running to the exits. A few more souls vanished, their cries echoing in _Meifu_ as the dark mist advanced. Konoe was doing his best to contain the stricken group but to no avail.

            _Evil Wind._

            Huh? Tatsumi jerked back to reality. The word had just come floating into his mind. He spun around to see Tsuzuki holding the unconscious Hisoka. Watari was holding the boy's limp wrist as if to check the pulse. Both wore the same shocked expression that he knew was also on his face.

            _Evil Wind. Evil Wind._

            "Hisoka?" Tsuzuki said tentatively to the unresponsive boy.  He started to shake him, " Hisoka! Hisoka! What is it? What are you trying to say?"

            "Stop it, mon!" Watari laid a restraining hand to the man. " You'll only hurt him."

            _...Second Sun...Divine Wind...Evil Wind..._

            Then all at once, the boy started to scream and thrash wildly. His eyes rolled back. All around them more souls vanish, their cries echoing in the gathering gloom. Even Hisoka was starting to fade.

            Tsuzuki straightened up. Tatsumi could see the crackling, swirling chi around Tsuzuki. That meant either his _shikigamis_ were eager to have a go at whatever that was out there or it could also mean that the _shinigami_ was really pissed.

            He was pissed too. He HATED being helpless. He was unaware that his own shadow warriors were straining for release.

            "Use this!"

            Something black and heavy was shoved into Tatsumi's hands. He gave the old chief a questioning look.

            "Artifacts! It contains artifacts that can be use against gods," Konoe said. He was sweating heavily which was a little odd because a) they were dead and b) it was freezing. Ice had formed on the jagged remains of the windows.

            "You mean gods did this!"

            It was Tsuzuki. He was shaking with anger.

            "Why? WHY?"

            Konoe quailed with fear," I don't know. I don't know but right now I think that's our only chance." He gestured to the box.

            "Whatever you people are planning to do I suggest you hurry it up," Watari said. "Because I don't think I can keep Hisoka here for very long..." His voice trailed away and the other_ shinigamis_ noticed that Watari had drawn a circle around them both. The circle was glowing and for a while, Hisoka had stopped screaming. "As long as we stay in this circle, as long as it doesn't break I can stop him from fading away," he explained. "But you'll have to hurry because whatever it is that's affecting Hisoka is also affecting me too." His own hand started to fade then turned back to its solid self. For a moment, the magic circle wavered then steadied.

            Tatsumi opened the box. Inside were three artifacts. A mirror with elaborate runes on its face. An intricately designed dagger with the same enigmatic runes. A large jeweled object the shaped of a winged globe.

            Tsuzuki reached for one item only to have his hand zapped.

            Konoe stared at the items then looked at Tatsumi, " You try."

            He was about to argue then thought better of it. They really couldn't afford to dawdle while they were losing Meifu and its inhabitants by the minute. He reached in and was surprise when he didn't get shocked like Tsuzuki did. 

            "Well, what do you know..."

            He barely heard Watari. As soon as his hand closed around the dagger, images and knowledge started to flood his mind. He couldn't make sense of it. On and on the sounds, images and even words poured into his head. He was drowning in the visions. 

            /_Stop it! What are you trying to tell me!/_

            All at once the visions stopped. Tatsumi stared into nothing. And then a grey sick light appeared at the horizon. It was getting closer. A great army stood on the plain.

            _Sons of Belial._

            He didn't know how he knew that. One by one, the soldiers started dropping to their feet as the grey mist came over them. And then from a distant hill a voice echoed.

            **_Shurpu Elish Shamamu._**

**_            Shurpu la zakrat Shuma._**

**_                        Purify the lofty Heaven._**

**_                        Purify the firm Earth._**

            A  man clad in priestly garments stood there. On his chest was the jeweled disc, his right hand held up the mirror on his forehead. His left held the dagger. It was pointed towards the mist. A golden light surrounded the being. The light expanded and Tatsumi  was blinded.

            "TATSUMI!"

            He blinked. Tsuzuki had just yelled into his ears. 

            "I know what to do. Let's go."

            The two of them stood in the middle of the ruined _sakura_ groves. A cold wind whipped their long coats. The mist was creeping slowly. _Meifu_ had grown deserted in such a short while.

            Tsuzuki brush a lock of his hair that had fallen across his face. He glanced at the secretary. The man was standing a few feet behind him muttering to himself as he put on the artifacts. Then he looked up and gave Tsuzuki the go-ahead signal.

            _Show time._

            He let his _shikigamis_ go. The sudden release nearly threw him off his feet. He half expected all 12 to go but was surprise to see only _Suzaku_ and _Byakko_ launch themselves into the mist. _Sohryu_, the guardian of the East, had surrounded the _Juohcho_ building in his dragon form. So was _Touda_, the guardian of the black fire. The two were not in good terms. The fact that they were working together worried him. This was serious.

            What happened next was something that they did not expect. From the mist, blackened creatures leaped out and attacked both _shikigamis_ and _shinigamis_. Tsuzuki was barely able to evade one such creature. As soon as the fuda that he threw made contact with the creature, it gave a horrible shriek. The black substance surrounding it retreated to reveal one of Meifu's lost souls. Terazuma fell, the fuda still stuck on his forehead. An expression of horror was on his face.

            Tsuzuki stared. He was shaken. They were fighting their friends! Another creature attacked him. The fiery bird Suzaku tore it apart. He screamed. The nameless soul vanished with a cry.

            _"YAMITE!"_ he fell to his knees, clutching his head. " No. No. Stop! STOP!

            "Get up Tsuzuki!"

            The secretary's voice cut through the haze. It sounded clear and strong. He turned to the man. The artifacts were giving off a golden light. A few of the blackened creatures attempted to wrench away the artifacts but Tatsumi's own shadow warriors deflected them.

            "Hang in there! We CAN save them! Tell your _shikigamis_ not to destroy them!"

            Tsuzuki nodded dumbly. He could hear the other _shinigami_ chanting. More creatures leaped out of the mist. The mist itself was reaching out to them. A smoky tendril grabbed his coat. His coat shriveled. He hurriedly took it off and threw it at the mist where is disintegrated. And then he realized something. Tatsumi's voice was growing louder. The light surrounding the man was getting brighter until he could no longer see the other _shinigami_. All he could hear were the roar of his _shikigamis_ and the cries of the blackened mist creatures.

            **_Shurpu Elish Shamamu!_**

**_            Shurpu la zakrat Shuma!_**

            Tatsumi's voice thundered over the din. A great light shot from the man and pierced the darkness. The psychic scream that resulted from that drove both shinigamis to their feet. When Tsuzuki regained his senses, he saw that the secretary was down. He scrambled towards the other man.

            _"Ne? Tatsumi-san? Daijobo?"_

            Tatsumi sat up. "I'm fine, Tsuzuki..." Both men got to their feet albeit still shaky.

            Both men looked around. The darkness was gone. So where the _shikigamis_ and shadow warriors. Lying on the ground were some of the many souls of _Meifu_. One by one, every one started regaining consciousness.

            Terazuma pulled off the _fuda_ that was still stuck on his forehead and blinked at Tatsumi and Tsuzuki. 

            "What happened?" he asked.

            The two just stared at him.

**TBC**

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**K.H.:    **            Ahh! I just love those gorgeous guys in Yummy no, err... I mean _Yami no Matsuei_. Read my first song fic please! It's about another tall, dark, brooding and gorgeous guy, I mean demigod, in _Gensomaden Saiyuki_. ^_^ And yeah, _Evanescence_ rocks!

**Kurama:**          Sheesh! _*rolls his eyes at Hikari*_ There she goes again.

**K.H.:**                As if! Hello?! You're also attracted to dark, beautiful and twisted type of personalities!

**Kurama:**          Oh really? Name one. _*one eyebrow arched*_

**K.H.:**                There was Korunue, Karasu, _*Kurama shudders*_ Ok, maybe not Karasu but there WAS Yomi and yes! Hiei!

**Kurama:**          I see. Sorry I asked. -_- R and R, minna.

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	10. Still Time

**Disclaimer:  **Not mine. And never ever will be. Except maybe for the OCs. They'll show up soon enough.

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**Kodomo Hikari:           **_Gomen ne, minna_. I haven't abandoned this fic so don't worry. It's just that I was very busy with work and family issues. I couldn't write while I was worrying about moving out and finding a new place to stay, the safety audit at work, organizing a Christmas party in the workplace (major, major migraine), safety manuals for the plant operations, my mom's depression (Thank _kamisama_ that she got over it.), audit results, office decorations, etc.  Aw heck, you can read it in my blog. I've tried to keep it faithfully at least.

**Kurama:**          You looked stressed.

**K. Hikari:**         Boy is that an understatement. Anyway, I hope y'all forgive me for the extremely delayed update. Err...I hope I still have readers left...err...uhrm...

            I haven't forgotten my readers. I've also just read **FF.net's** announcement regarding author notes. I don't have the technical knowledge to make my own website so I'll be using my yahoo group as a place to post author's notes, author sketches etc. I'll configure it so even if you are not a member you can read the messages.  You can leave me your messages either in my Eudoramail account or in my yahoo account.  All links can be found in my bio if you're interested.

            On to my reviewers:

**Bloodfang** - _Arigato_ for the _chibi_ Hiei pillow. Yes, the eyes are just A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E! ^_~

**Dragon Lady Supreme** _- *pouts*_ Kurama won't let me use the insta-curse kit. He hid it somewhere. I swear, if I didn't know, I'd never guess that he's a _youkai_. Gomen, big writer's block. Haven't gotten over it yet.

**Kaeru Soyokaze** - Wow! Your friend loves Watari? Yay! That makes two of us! I mean who can resist a blond, _genki_ mad scientist who's forever trying to make a sex change potion?! ^o^ And thank you so much for your email.

**Sammy** - Oh man, I hope I haven't disappointed you because of the much-delayed update.

**Dark Moon Goddess** - That was very bad of me. After rediscovering my fic, I took near forever to update. _Chotto_...rediscover?! Why you! And here I was thinking you're reading along but not posting. _* pouts * _But hey, does that mean we're even then? ^_~

**Confetti **- _Sugoi! _A new reader aside from the regulars! I promise...I won't disappoint you.

**Pippin Skyweasley** - ^_^ Tatsumi and company are from the anime _Yami no Matsuei. _

**Shiozaki** - _Sugoi! Sugoi! _One of my favorite authors left a review! I am so honored! _Gomen ne. _I was unable to participate fully in your fanfic challenge. But I've read the submissions and they were good!

            Please understand that when I wrote this fic I am still not over my writer's block. This is why it's so short. I also wrote this in the evening. I stayed in the office longer than everyone else did so I could finish this and not disappoint my readers. 

            I promise that once I start my vacation, things will be back to normal and I'll make up for the lost time. Thanks for sticking with me _minna_. I really appreciate it.  Reviewer cameos, questions, etc. will resume in the next chapter. 

**P.S.      **I've seen some authors center the title text in their stories. How do they do it? I can't seem to do the same thing. Can someone tell me how? Please?

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**_Word Watch:_**

**Strata= **several rock layers

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**                                                                                    Chapter 9: Still Time**

_                                                                                    "Time Present and Time Past_

_                                                                        Are both perhaps present in Time Future_

_                                                                        And Time Future contained in Time Past._

_                                                                                    If all Time is eternally present,_

_                                                                                    All Time is unredeemable._

_                                                                        What might have been is an Abstraction."_

_                                                                                                                        -T.S. Elliot_

            The winds whistled pass his ears. He felt frozen. He brought his hands to his face to warm them with his breath only to realize that he was floating in midair. Or for lack of a better word, flying through the air with great speed. Without his broom. Without any magical aid whatsoever. The earth below him was receding in a dizzying speed that he wasn't even sure where he was now much less, where he was going.

            He forced himself to stop flying. He didn't have his wand so he tried moving backwards, flailing his arms and kicking furiously with his legs. A few minutes of useless thrashing made him come to a conclusion. Whatever it was that was propelling him forward was not letting him go. Harry was not going anywhere except wherever someone or something was taking him.

            Panic overwhelmed him. _Was this another of Voldemort's powers?_ _But wait...didn't Professor Dumbledore say that the Dursley's house was the safest place for him to be in? Could the headmaster be wrong?_ Immediately he pushed that disturbing thought away. Dumbledore had never been wrong on anything as important as that.

            Perhaps he was dreaming. Perhaps this was Voldemort's dream and he was seeing it too. Either he way, he had to wake up because now he was sure he WAS dreaming. He had to break this connection because if he could see into Voldemort's dream then it was a sure bet that the man could see into his.

            _What if he sees my recurring nightmare about Sirius...?_

            He renewed his struggle, this time not to stop flying but to wake up. He was at home and warm in his bed. This was just another dream...

            He saw the horizon curved and he knew that he was flying higher than any jet plane. The earth below was now just a hodgepodge of colors and light. Ahead he could see the stars loose their twinkle**1** and he realized with a jolt that he was now leaving the planet, that he was now on the boundary before deep space.

            _Where the hell am I going?!_

            Fear grips him. _No. No. This could not be Voldemort's power. God help us all if this was_. He risked looking down once again only to see the earth as a blue and white sphere in the blackness of space.

            _Oh, dear lord..._

            Then a brilliant light flashed and the next thing he knew he was shooting somewhere filled with blinding light.

            _I'm...I'm not in space anymore..._

            However, the most relevant question would be..._Where the hell am I?!_

            The brilliant white light faded into a bright sky blue and now he was zooming past cottony wisps which he realized where clouds. And then he broke through the cloud cover. Below him, a vast world spread out. One look at the landscape and he knew this was not Earth or rather this was not the planet Earth that he knew of. The ground was littered with bones and scorched black by some huge explosion that left it scarred. He could barely make out a lone slender figure standing in the center and then he was past that scene. Somehow, he sensed the overwhelming sadness of that lone figure. That one had lost something or someone dear. 

            As he sped on from the horizon, he could see that sharp mountain ranges blocked his way. He found to his horror that he was going straight for them. He vaguely remembered Hermione telling him that sometimes the things that happen to a dreamer in his dream also reflects on his sleeping self. If so he was going to be a bloody mess when he wakes up...assuming he wakes up.

            As he neared the range, he heard a godlike voice chanting in a language he could not understand.

            **_" Sídh go neimh..." _2**

            He held out his arms in what he knew was a useless gesture to protect himself as he neared the rock face. Just when he thought he was going to crash into the granite surface, he suddenly realized with a start that he was going through it. It was disconcerting to know that he was immaterial. He was passing through several layers of strata before he suddenly came to another horrible conclusion.

            _O my god. I'm dead?!_

            Before he could ponder on that, a great cavern opened up before him. Now he was floating over a great multitude of people..._no wait...some were people but some were decidedly not_, were gathered. It seemed they were listening to someone.

            Harry squinted his eyes and saw a tall woman who was the subject of everyone's rapt attention. The next thing he knew, he was standing right beside her on the stone ledge. He looked around uneasy but then he noticed that no one seemed to know he was there. In fact, he even experimented in making faces to the hooded man beside him but the man's face didn't change.

            So not only was he immaterial, no one could see him as well. Now he was sure that he was not dead because even though the dripping water from the stalactites did not drench him, he was still bitterly cold. The only thing keeping him from hypothermia was the light of the torches held by what he thought were monks. He could still feel. _Dead people don't feel, right?_

            _God I hoped so..._

            Harry focused his attention to the woman. So she was the voice that he heard resonating on the mountains. He had no idea what she was saying  so he studied her instead. She was tall. In fact, she was VERY tall. Taller than any woman that he knew off. He barely came up to her chest and it seemed so were the monks behind her. Long curly coppery tresses fell down her back. She wore a simple velvet moss green dress that complimented her lithe figure. But it was her face that held his attention. She had incredibly smooth skin, almost like marble. In fact, if she weren't speaking he would have thought her to be a marble sculpture. She also had the strangest eye color...amethyst. They looked more like jewels than real eyes. 

            **_"Neimh go domhan domhan fo neimh neart i gcách..."_** **2**

            _Her eyes...face...how old was she?_ Her face was unblemished by age and yet he could sense that this woman was old. Ancient even.

            The crowd suddenly roared and Harry found himself flying in the air again. This time the sky had taken a grim color. The clouds opened up to him to reveal a great army advancing on a plain.

            _The Sons of Belial..._

            He jumped at the thought. _Where the heck did that one come from?_ And then as he looked again at the plain he realized it was the same plain that he passed before only this time there was no graveyard of bones. Only one lone priest-king standing in a far off distance waiting for the army.

            _Priest-king?_

            Again, he had no idea how he knew. He sensed something frightening coming for him. He turned around to see a great ominous black mist sweep over the horizon. A chill came over him. A chill that he knew was not the cold air's fault.

_            Evil Wind. Divine Wind._

            He was not going to ask where that knowledge came from. All he wanted right now was to get as far as possible from that Evil Wind. His suspicion was only confirmed when everything that dark mist touched withered away.

            **_"Shurpu Elish shamamu!" _3**

            He turned around at the sound of the great voice and was surprised to see not the priest king but another tall man who looked decidedly modern in his clothes and appearance. The man was holding three artifacts of some sort and he was directing the light from it to the dark mist. There was another man with him. Harry could sense the incredible powers possessed by the two. Together the two were fighting off the dark creatures that the dark mist gave birth. He could not see the two men's faces but one seemed to command the shadows and another was throwing pieces of paper that had a deadly effect on the mist creatures. That same man seemed to have the loyalty of a great white tiger and a great fiery bird as the two came to his aid whenever he was in danger. He had a brief glimpse of ruined cherry groves and two huge snake-like creatures intertwined on a building. 

            To his horror, inky black tendrils from the mist reached out for him. One of them grazed his foot and he felt searing pain shoot out from his ankle. A blackened skull grinned at him and Harry gave in to the fear. He tried to fly away but all efforts to move away felt like going through molasses. And the mist was getting so close…

            Then the first man's voice reached a crescendo and the next thing Harry knew he was blinded by the light.

            He woke up, drenched in his own sweat, one fist jammed into his mouth to stifle any screams that were threatening to come out. His heart was racing fast.

            _It was a dream. _

            It was different from his nightmares before. Those nightmares were about people whom he had directly or indirectly caused their deaths.

            _No. This was more than a dream. It was an omen. _

            Time was unraveling and the different realms where merging.

**TBC**

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**Footnotes:**

**1. **Stars twinkle because the atmosphere bends their light. In space, light from the stars travel straight because there is no atmosphere so they do not twinkle. Once you near the boundary between our planet and deep space, you can see the stars barely twinkle because of the extremely thin atmosphere. _(Man, am I dorky or what?!)_

**2. **Excerpt from the Irish old prophecy called the **_Morrigan's Prophecy_**. It predicted peace at the end of a great war. Kind of like the one mentioned in the Book of Revelations in the Bible.

**3. **I rearranged the words of the great Sumerian Creation Epic **_Enuma Elish._**

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**K.H.:    **Well, that's it for now. I'm trying to work through my writer's block here. Apologies if it seemed so short to you. I promise that I'll make up for it during my vacation break. Links to my yahoo groups, blogs etc. can be found in my FF.net bio. So go ahead push that 'lil purple (or blue) button and tell me your rants or raves. Until then. ^_~

**Hiei:**    Can I slash through writer's block? 

**K.H.:**    If only it were that easy _(notices Hiei's dazed look)._ All right, who fed him sugar?

**_Everyone starts slinking away._**

**K.H.:**  _Mou…_

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	11. The Arawn

**DISCLAIMER:**              Let's make this very clear...I DO NOT OWN YYH, CCS, YnM and HP. I just BORROWED the characters because my imagination was working overtime. ===================================================================================

**Kurama:**          Eh? Hikari-san? _Daijobu?_

**K.Hikari:**          I'm fine. I've tried everything including dynamite but nothing's working! The darn writer's mountain is still there!

**Yusuke:**           Mountain?

**Kurama:**          It's what writer's get when they're stuck in a story. It's usually a block but in her case...

**K.H.:**                And you are not helping at all.

**Kurama:**          What'd I do?

**K.H.:**                _Ch._ Well anyway, I'm glad that I still have readers left even after a very long update. _Arigatou minna_. Thank you so much. More than a 100 reviews! And I owe it all to you guys! ^v^

**_Despairing Angel_** - Sugoi! A new reader! Gomen ne. I intended it to be mystifying. That way you and the characters discover things together. ^_^

**_Dark Moon Goddess_** - _Arigatou_ for your support. ^_^ 

**_Sammy_** - Unfortunately Hiei had to go back to Makai. Frontier guard duty. It was his shift. I did make a fan art of him though. It's at my yahoo group page, **_The Gripe Vines_**, photo section. The link can be found in my bio. You could print it out and scare your teacher with it. ^_~ I'm inviting you to join **_The Gripe Vines_**. It's a support group for fan fiction writers and writers in general. The members help each other in the writing process, like plot lines, tips and tricks of the trade. ^_^ Heck, I'm extending the invites to anyone else who is interested. And yes, Sammy, I will read and help you with your writing. Good luck!

**_Kaeru Soyokaze_** - _Arigatou!_ I'm so glad you are still reading this.

**_Dragon Lady Supreme and Pippin_** **_SkyWeasley_** - _Arigatou for joining The Gripe Vines_. ^o^ **_Dragon Lady_**, I know what's it like to run out inspiration. I was running on empty when I wrote these chapters too so please don't delete your stories.**_ Pippin_**, read on, I have a treat. ^_^

**_Kyo-kun_** - _Salamat_ for letting me use your En-ma hunters. ^_^ _Arigatou_.

            To all who've read this fic...I apologized for being unable to read and review all your stories. Much as I would want to, I simply can't. I only have 24 hours- 6 is spent on sleeping or I get very cranky ehehehe ^_~

            Enough chitchat. Chapter 10 folks! 

**WARNING:** Long chapter.  Very long chapter. Making up for long updates. 

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**Word Watch:**

**Arawn** = Celtic God of the Dead, Revenge and Terror

**Annwn **= Celtic underworld

**Empathy** = The ability to sense other emotions, someone possessing this ability is called an empath

**3 Death Aspects** = Entirely my creation, the weakest of the DA are those who escort the willing (e.g. Botan), the more powerful are the shinigamis since they deal with the unwilling (e.g. YnM) and the most powerful and obscure is one known only as _Macha_. Rumors say that _Macha_ is female in form. Everyone on the other hand either fears or respect _Macha_ since she is the only one who can decide and has the power to decree if a life is over be it god or human.

**En-ma**= Buddhist God of the Underworld

**Koen-ma** = According to the YYH canon, En-ma has a son. Literally translated it means En-ma Junior. ^_^

**Jagan **= Hiei's artificial third eye. It never closes.

**Gehenna** = One of the 7 levels of Hell according to Angel and Demon lore.

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                                                          **CHAPTER 10: The Arawn**

            The city of London sleeps. The normally busy streets are seemingly empty and devoid of life as the rain continued to fall all through the night. A solitary figure walks underneath the foggy street lamps, his form casting no shadows. All night creatures shied away from his approach for they sense what he was. He was an _Arawn- a God of Death and Revenge_. 

            As he walked, he sensed the delicate threads of life weave in and out through the city. It would be a simple matter for him to reach out and cut it. But he was not on a mission to retrieve a lost soul nor to investigate an unusual death. He was here to meet another of his kind. Except from where the other came from they called the gods of death _shinigamis_.

            He kept walking, his footsteps making no sound. Co-workers had always chided him for being so attached with the human ways. He had ignored them. Isn't that why they became a_rawns_ in the first place? Because they had such a strong attachment to the living one way or another.

            He found his destination- a five star hotel with unusual occupants staying within. He started to whistle as he slowly made himself corporeal.

-*-*-*-*-

            The sudden loud boom of thunder woke Tatsumi up from his slumber. The folder that he was reading had slipped to the floor and the papers were now scattered on the carpeted floor. He made a move to pick them up and immediately winced as dull pain shot through his back. 

_            Ok. That is the last time I'm going to fall asleep on a couch in this physical form._

            When _shinigamis_ are sent to the Land of the Living, they usually take on a temporary physical form. Unfortunately, being in a physical form means they have to conform also to the rules that bind that form. That means if they fall asleep in an uncomfortable position in a couch, they were going to wake up with either a nasty crick on the neck or one hell of a back pain. 

            He was having the back pain. It was annoying. He contemplated on returning to his spirit form but then stopped. The pain would be gone in a few minutes anyway. _Shinigamis_ heal very fast. He started to gather the papers while his thoughts returned to his dream.

            It was the same dream that he, Tsuzuki and Hisoka were having after the events in _Meifu_. It was like there was this giant jigsaw puzzle and they were dreaming the different pieces of it together. Of the three, Hisoka was the one having the hardest time. Being a powerful emphath, the dreamscape was infinitely more vivid. They had long suspected that what they were dreaming were not prophetic but rather events that had already happened. Like someone's memories. Very powerful memories.

            Only this time, there was a new face in the dream. The dream had followed its regular course and culminated into their frantic battle in _Meifu_ with the Accursed wind. But just as he was going to banish the dark mist, he heard a terrified scream. He looked up to see a boy, no more than 15 or 16 from the looks of him, suspended in the air. His mouth was open in horror as he struggled to free himself from the grip of the mist creatures. Before he could even wonder who that boy was or how he got there the dream had ended.

            A quick glance at the bedside clock told him it was 3 A.M. A second or two later he realized he wasn't alone in his dark room.

            A foxy red head was sitting languidly on his bed. That was ok. Except Kurama's upper shirt was open. Oh, and his dark red hair was mussed. The brilliant green eyes regarded him with the intensity of a laser and Tatsumi felt like a deer caught on a car's onrushing headlights moments before becoming road kill.

            "Uh...what do you want?" Instantly he regretted speaking so soon. There was an unmistakable squeak in his voice. He, Tatsumi Seiichirou, never ever squeaks. That was not him. No. when Tatsumi speaks everyone else's squeaks. It was NOT the other way around. 

            But dammit...no one should look as good as Kurama. He stopped as he realized something. A raven haired, amethyst-eyed beauty floated in his mind's eye . _Damn Tsuzuki. Damn all high-level demons, gods and other accursed creatures. _

            He sighed.

_            Why is it that all powerful demon spawns come in such beautifully wrapped packages?_

            "Are you ok, Sei-san?" there was tinge of amusement in the otherwise concerned tone of Kurama. "You look pale."

_            Gee, you would too when you wake up and find a gorgeous boy with his shirt open, sitting on YOUR bed, in the middle of the night or something, with the lights out, with the two of you alone and you KNOW that you're NOT gay._

            But of course he didn't say that. That was very un-Tatsumi-like. So instead he said, " I'm fine, Kurama." _And would you please close your shirt? It's getting hot in here, _he added silently.

            " _Atsui, Sei-san?_ Perhaps you should loosen your shirt."

            "Wha...What?"

            He wasn't sure exactly what Kurama said. _Atsui_ in Japanese could mean hot. But it could also mean intense passion.

            _Think nice happy thoughts. No, wait. Think nice angry thoughts. Like Meifu's budget in the red. Or Tsuzuki's life long debt. Heh, think anything but. You DO NOT want to blush in front of Kurama._

            And then he realized that the power was off.

            Kurama grinned, " Black out."

            "This is a 5-star hotel. They should have a back-up," Tatsumi retorted. _God, did he sound like a petulant kid?_ He hoped not.

            "Yes it would. They're sending the repair men there now to figure out why it won't switch on."

            Tatsumi groaned. 

            _"Ne, Sei-san..."_

            "What?"

            "My record..."

            Tatsumi glanced at the _kitsune _sharply. He saw that Kurama had read the files. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. He wasn't exactly under oath not to reveal the files but since Kurama was a _youkai_-and a very clever one at that- the information that Kurama picked up might be used against them.

            After all, there must be a reason why _En-ma_ did not trust the _Rei Tantei_. It was only his son's argument that more or less convinced _En-ma_ to let them all go to London. That and the call from the Ministry of Magic to all _magickal_ families to send representatives. It was all a bunch of hooey as far as Tatsumi was concerned. There was another reason than _magickal_ exchange of knowledge. 

            The lights came back on. So did the air conditioner. 

            _It was about time,_ Tatsumi thought. The room was getting stuffy and the red head was only making the temperatures rise.

            "What about your record?" he asked the fox.

            "You have no details of the time before I joined the bandits."

            "Well, I was hoping you could provide that missing part," Tatsumi answered glibly. No, he wasn't expecting the fox would. He knew Kurama couldn't. Not won't, but can't.

            Kurama frowned. _Was the shinigami playing with him? Either way, he had to know. It was important to him. If he had to make this man suffer in order to get what he wanted he would do it in a heartbeat._

            " Tatsumi. I am not the type to beg."

            " I know."

            " Then answer me."

            "You haven't asked me your question, Kurama."

            Tatsumi saw Kurama's face become utterly placid. _Well, I sure don't want to play poker with this guy._ Gone was the slight impatience on the boy. Now there was nothing. Just a cold calm exterior. A sure sign that the _youkai _side was waiting just underneath that calm expressionless face.

            " Very well. Do you have any information about my past?"

            " No."

            " I tire of this easily, Tatsumi." The green eyes glittered with flecks of gold Tatsumi noticed. So it was true. The _ningen_-side was fighting a losing battle with the _youkai_ within. He should be careful with Kurama. If everything they said was true about this one then only Yusuke might be able to stop him. And Tsuzuki with his 12 _shikigamis_ would stop Yusuke. _Question, who would stop Tsuzuki if that one went over the edge too? Gods, don't you just hate the way the world works sometimes?_

            " Unfortunately Kurama, we really do not have any information about your past. Only that you do not remember it."

            " You are one of the powerful personas of the _3 Death Aspects_. You report directly to En-ma. You are privy to information that is denied to the other Death Aspects. How could YOU not know."

            "Thank you. I am flattered. But really, I do not know. I doubt any of the Death Aspects do too. Maybe En-Ma or his son knows. You should ask them because I doubt if _Macha_ would answer you."

            "Very funny, Tatsumi."

            Tatsumi noticed that for a while now, Kurama had stopped calling him _Sei-san_. And the boy's voice seemed to have changed into someone much older. So he wasn't talking to Shuichi Minamino. He was now having a conversation with Youko Kurama. He wondered how many of _En-Ma's hunters_ had survived long enough to have a decent conversation with the famed Youko. Probably not long.

            "But really, Kurama. Why the sudden interest in your past? You weren't too eager to know it before."

            The boy did not answer. There was a faraway look in his eyes instead. The pendant that Kurama was wearing suddenly gave off a faint glow. Both males looked at it.

            The other artifacts were with Hiei and Yusuke. Yusuke had the mirror, which had transformed into a funky armband. Hiei had the dagger that had turned itself into a thin golden diadem around his head and was hidden underneath the starburst in his hair. For once, Hiei did not need a bandanna to cover his _jagan_. The diadem seemed to form an invisible seal around his jagan so no one could see it but it did not prevent him from using his third eye.

            The ornate jewel on the other hand had transformed into a pendant bearing the same ornate design. It also seemed to have a mind of its own because as Kurama had discovered belatedly, it refused to come off. It did have an interesting side effect - the constant tug-of-war with his _ningen_ and _youkai_ side seemed to have quieted down a bit. At least now he could sleep knowing that when he wakes up he had not massacred his _ningen_ family in his sleep.

            " Interesting." Tatsumi stared at the jewel. _En-ma _had told him to give those artifacts to three of the _Rei Tantei_ members. He was told that they would act as a seal to them, binding their powers but not impairing them. It was _En-ma's_ way of staying in control. _Koen-ma_ had protested saying the _Rei Tantei_ could be trusted but _En-ma_ would not be swayed. And after reading all the _Rei Tantei's_ files he understood _En-ma's_ mistrust.

            Yusuke Urameshi was descended from a powerful race of demons that were called the _Toushins_. The _Toushins_ were a race of fearsome fighters. Once, a long time ago, they were soldiers for the _Nefilim- Those who came Down_. Now, of his kind, only Yusuke was left. Though he was not of pure demon heritage his human heritage had left him as a hybrid. And as everyone in the Upper Levels knows, any creature crossed with a human results in a much more powerful being than the original. It was something in the human make-up that made this possible. Judging from Yusuke's history the boy was still discovering exactly what he could really do with his abilities.

            Jaganashi Hiei was a taboo child to begin with. A product of the forbidden union between a fire demon and a snow maiden. His red eyes betrayed his corrupted lineage. Such children were not allowed to exist according to the order mandated by the Heavens. It could only bring much suffering and misfortune to the three Realms. And now with the Commandments weakening, everyone up there was raising a racket about how they should have disposed of the taboo child in the beginning. It was only _Koen-ma_ who had stood up for his friends. It was rather interesting to see that _En-ma's_ son, despite his looks and age, could be so mature and courageous at times. 

            And of course, there was the mysterious Youko Kurama. A demon fox with no past. Everyone in _Tenkai_ preferred keeping complete tabs of those in the Lower Realms, especially those in _Makai_. So when Youko entered the scene sans a complete history and endeared himself by giving everyone in _Tenkai _a migraine, THEY were NOT happy.

            But something in _En-ma's_ eyes told Tatsumi that the elder god knew more than he let on and was keeping quiet about it.

            "Did you know, Kurama," Tatsumi began. " That when another one like you tried to hold the artifacts, it rejected him?"

            That got Kurama's attention. 

            "Another one like me?" the green eyes had flecks of gold in them.

            Tatsumi nodded. " Yes. A creature neither demon, human nor god." He took a deep breath and locked his eyes with Kurama, " An _itan_."

            At the mention of the word something seemed to click in Kurama's mind.

            Voices. Loud voices talking over his head. Angry or scared he could not tell. 

            _'Destroy him! He is an itan!"_

_            'Urusei!"_

            And then as quickly as that came there was another faint memory of him and another man.

_            'Arigatou.'_

_            'I rarely give gifts. I take them.'_

            It was like a mirror breaking. Kurama gasped. His eyes widened, " Clow Reed!"

            Tatsumi merely raised an eyebrow, " So the rumors were right. You did meet the sorcerer."

            The boy was still shaking his head. Meanwhile, the pendant continued to glow softly in the dim light.

            "And," Tatsumi observed. "From the looks of it he hit you with one pretty strong memory spell."

            There was a soft growl from the boy, " When I get my hands on that..."

            Tatsumi laughed softly, " Don't bother. No one from the three Realms knows where he is. Probably reincarnated but I doubt it. He's somewhere about having a good laugh I suspect."

            "So he's alive then?" Kurama was still not looking very happy about this. If Reed were alive he'd make that bloody sorcerer pay for messing with his mind.

            "Nope. Dead as a doornail. Man saw his own death coming. Even the exact place and time. That probably explains why no one could figure him out. I gather things like that do things to your mind."

            No response from the boy. Just a lot of growling.

            "Can we get own with the discussion or will you continue growling like that?"

            Just a sharp hn from the teenager.

            "Gee, you're beginning to sound like Hiei, Kurama." Despite his teasing manner, Tatsumi actually felt protective over Kurama. The same way that he would never admit that he cared a lot about Tsuzuki and the rest of the 18 employees of Ju-Oh Cho.

            Outcast. History unknown. Personal monsters to haunt you always...for the rest of your life and maybe even the next life. Like Tsuzuki with his unknown heritage and Hisoka with his curse of empathy. And now, Kurama. It was odd thinking and feeling that way. Both Kurama and Tsuzuki possessed great and terrible powers. Enough power to make Tenkai wary of them. And yet somehow there was something lost  and broken in those two. Tsuzuki hid his with a smile and a carefree laid-back attitude. Perhaps Kurama hid his behind that cold cruel exterior. Perhaps he was not even aware that he was lost and broken.

            " Stop analyzing me."

            " Sorry," Tatsumi said. " Force of habit, you know."

            " What's this about an itan?"

            Tatsumi took a deep breath and continued, " An itan? An itan as I said before is neither demon, god nor human..."

            "Spirit?"

            "Uh...not quite spirit either..."

            "Itan...you mean titan?"

            "Are you done interrupting me? If it was titan you'd think I'd probably said so by now."

            "Oh. I thought you were still a little groggy and sleepy."

            Tatsumi gave the fox his trademark look. The one that sent employees of the Ju-oh Cho running in the opposite direction when they see him coming down the corridors with THAT look.

            Kurama was unfazed. It seemed the boy was getting his pace back. At least the disconcerting gold flecks in his eyes were gone.

            "Right. Itan then, " Kurama conceded with a slight grin. "So I'm an itan?"

            " Seems like it."

            "Doesn't sound so bad. I could be a _bakamono_- a monster from _Gehenna_. You know how ugly those things are? Come to think of it. I've never met anyone in _Gehenna _who actually looks good."

            Tatsumi groaned. _Amazing how a conversation could wander in so short a time._

            "And now, I bid you good night or good morning Kurama. We have a long day tomorrow and you are wasting my time."

            " _Chotto._ " the old voice returned. "We're not done yet."

            Tatsumi glanced at the boy, "Let me guess. That was an ice breaker?"

            "You're too serious did you know that."

            "Look who's talking. You're the one who wants to know something."

            "Fine. I won't interrupt." The pendant stopped glowing. 

            Tatsumi looked at Kurama then at the window.

            "Why don't you get your friends here and we'll talk about it together."

            Kurama had no need to follow his gaze. He sensed a gathering of _chi_ that was suddenly gone as soon as it started. It seemed another _shinigami _had touched down in the land of the living. " I see."

-*-*-*-*-

            Four sullen teenagers either sat, stood or sprawled somewhere in the room that Tatsumi was staying in. A very bouncy_ shinigami_ that reminded him of Tsuzuki on a sugar high was flitting across the room examining the said teenagers. Except, he wasn't called a _shinigami_ and _Meifu_ wasn't called _Meifu_. Here in Europe, _shinigamis_ were called _arawns_ and _Meifu _was called _Annwn_.

            "Blimey! So there really is a descendant of the _Toushins_ left!"

            Yusuke was too sleepy to swat at the man. Besides, the bed was so soft and inviting. _Who in their right minds hold meetings in this ungodly hour in the morning anyway?_ He grabbed a pillow and buried his head into it.

            The man went over to Kuwabara and studied the groggy teen, "Wow. This one's got a lot of potential."

            Kazuma just dribbled on the collar of his pjs then promptly keeled over the rug and started snoring.

            "If he had half a brain, " Hiei snorted in the corner.

            The _arawn's_ eyes widened in excitement. He was about to go over to Hiei when Tatsumi spoke up, " I suggest you restrain you're curiosity on those two unless you want to experience a second death."

            Hiei was glaring at both _shinigamis_. He didn't like the _arawn_. For one, he was too...chirpy. And those light brown eyes were just sparkling way too much. He couldn't stand cheery people. Tatsumi on the other hand, well, there was no way he was going to forgive the _shinigami_. The man was a _kagetsukai _and had used his powers on him to restrain him. Never mind if Kurama said it was for his own good since he had a tendency to burn things down-even the plane they were riding on. 

            Kurama, on the other hand, was quietly sitting in a corner of the bed but was giving off vibes that said _'if you come near me you're going to regret it'._

            The man looked disappointed but heeded Tatsumi's advice. He plopped himself down on one of the seat cushions and looked at Tatsumi, " You probably know the general story, yes?"

            Everyone else nodded.

            "Ok. I'll give you the details to what's been happening here."

            He was interrupted by Kurama dialing room service.

            Tatsumi raised an eyebrow at this. Kurama just shrugged and pointed to the two snoring pair.

            "I doubt if coffee will work," Hiei said derisively.

            "Make that 4 double espressos," Kurama said to the phone before hanging up.

            The two went on snoring. 

            "Here let me help, " the _arawn_ said. He got to his feet and stood over the sleeping forms. A ball of crackling electricity appeared on both his hands. He tossed it towards Yusuke and Kazuma.

            The two shot up like they had been shot by lightning, which in a way they had.

            "AAaarrrGHHH! I'm up you freakish old woman!" Yusuke yelped. Then he blinked as he realized it wasn't Genkai who'd rudely awakened him.

            "GACK! What was that for?" Kazuma exclaimed.

            "Good you're awake, " Tatsumi said. " I suggest you STAY awake or the next time it won't be just lightning balls up your ass."

            Something in Tatsumi's face reminded the two teens of Genkai in her good days. Of course Genkai's good days usually mean bad days for Yusuke. So Yusuke settled instead on glaring at the one who tossed the lightning. The man responsible was shorter than Tatsumi and looked no  older than say 20? He was in direct contrast to Tatsumi's business like manner. In fact, the man reminded him of a male version of Botan. 

            " Hi! You can call me, Pippin!" 

            _Yup. Definitely Botan_.

            " The details please," Tatsumi interrupted before the man completely lost all track of his objective.

            "Oh, uhm yes, ok." Pippin settled back down and just as suddenly exclaimed, " Gee, you people sure pick up the English language fast, you know that?"

            Everyone in the room face faulted. One Botan was tolerable. Two? Aaaarrggghhh!

            It was taking a lot of Hiei's self-control not to wring the man's neck. Only Kurama's wary glances shot his way held him back. 

            Pippin apparently did not take the hint. He went right on babbling," I mean you, Tatsumi, I can understand. You've been a shinigami for close to a hundred years or more, right? And you have interacted with other foreign bureaus so it's natural for you to pick up the language..."

            "We're wearing charms that translate any language into something we can understand and vice versa," Kurama answered. He considered himself to be a pretty reasonable person but really it was too much to ask at four in the morning.

            Pippin looked startled. Something in the way Kurama said the words slowly made him noticed something. He thought he'd heard Kurama speaking in English but he was really speaking in Japanese. Or was he speaking both at the same time?  

            "Pretty cool, huh?" Kuwabara spoke up. " I mean I thought I was going crazy too when I thought they were talking in two languages at the same time but you barely noticed. And when you try to focus on it you don't pick up the other language at all."

            "Yah. I tried having fun with it once," Yusuke grinned. "Everyone hears us talking in their native language so I walked in a big room with lots of foreigners! The Americans thought I was speaking in English. The French thought I was speaking in French, the..."

            Everyone else groaned at this. That was exactly what Yusuke did when he got his amulet. Keiko had to drag him out of the embassy. 

            "Oh! May I see the amulet?" 

            "Can I kill them now, Kurama?"

            "No Hiei. Hang in there."

            "You think you've got it bad?" Tatsumi said to Hiei. " They left me in-charge of the Brotherhood of the Fools." He held his head. His migraine was coming back.

            Kazuma's amulet was a simple silver and black choker. It was Yusuke's armband that got Pippin absolutely hopping. "But this...but this..." He was completely sputtering.

            "Now?"

            "Not now."

            "Why not?"

            "Because I'm going to do it myself!" 

            It took a lot of fast moving on Tatsumi's part to reach Pippin before Kurama got to him first. 

            _"Alright. That's it! Yes! We're wearing Sumerian artifacts made by god knows what for god knows who! Not only does it translate words for us it helps us shield our powers too. BUT it does not restrict us in anyway so if YOU don't get to the point NOW you will be praying to whatever gods that you believe in that THIS amulet DOES restrict us!"_

            The room was eerily silent. Everyone stared at Kurama who was still shaking a little at his outburst. Kurama never lost his composure no matter what the situation. Ever. This was new.

            "Hey, how come my amulet's not Sumerian?"

            Kurama stared at Kazuma's open curiosity and then started to laugh crazily, " Boy. Did I lose it or what?"

            "Yes you did. What's wrong?" Hiei said. His friend was not acting normal. That worried him. 

            "I...nothing." Then he sank to his knees and held himself to stop shaking.

            "Oy, Kurama. " It was Yusuke. There was worried note in his voice.

            "Back of guys," Kuwabara said. " He's aura's pretty funky right now."

            For once, Hiei agreed with Kuwabara. His Jagan was hurting from seeing the angry swirls of color in Kurama's aura. He'd long ago suspected that there was more underneath that calm cool exterior but just what exactly was tormenting the fox?

            "It's more urgent than I thought," Pippin said gravely. "Then I will tell you a story about Creation...the Enuma Elish. The reason why we're all here in the first place."

**_TBC      _**

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**K.H.:** **_Pippin!_** Bet you were surprised to see your name huh? ^_^ I know some of you are probably asking where this is leading. Let me just say that this fic occurs way ahead of the source material so I had to put in a lot of ground work. Once I got that out of the way it should be clear sailing. It was quite a struggle on my part not to turn this into a boring narrative and I'm still not satisfied with it. Believe me, I'd been sitting on this chapter for so long just to see if I could it improve it. No dice. So here it is and I hope  I didn't do a too sucky job. It's part mystery, part adventure folks so it may be confusing at first. Mystery writers, I need help here. Any pointers? Please? **_I would love to entertain questions and comments. It would really help sort out those dang plot bunnies. _**

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	12. Tortured Souls

**DISCLAIMER:             Hn.**

**AUTHOR & RANDOM CASTS' RAMBLINGS: None**

**Kuwabara:    But I want to say some…mmmphhh… _(Yusuke gags him.)_**

**Random Reader:     _*mutters * No ramblings my foot._**

**REVIEW REPLIES:**

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**Kittona – Thank you. Thank you. You actually took the time to drop me a private message in my e-mail and you also joined the Gripe Vines! Whee! **

**Arcia –Tsk. Tsk. Yes. Poor Kurama. There's a reason. You'll see. But don't worry. I like him too so I won't torture him… much. Ehehehe ^_~**

**Kyo-Kun – Evil cliffies….I think I learned them from you. After all I **was** reading your stories first before I started writing mine mwehehehehe ^o^ …_Ano…don't kill me please!_**

**Aoshi 139 – Arigatou. I will gladly help you the same way I helped **Spirit Girl 2**. ^_^**

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

          Only that Chaos Chronicles won't let me write anything else. I mean I have _2 Saiyuki fics, 1 Ranma  and RK fic but I could never get pass the first 2 paragraphs because an annoying voice at the back of my mind is holding my plot bunnies and muses hostage and will not release them until I update or finish CC (Chaos Chronicles). _Chikuso!_ ._

**BONUS:**

**For Gripe Vine members – Uploaded Chapter drafts of CC in the files sections. Chapters that never made it to FF.net. If you're curious just go there. Also the _Enuma Elish epic. A scene between Tatsumi and Kurama that never made it to FF.net is there. Shadow Master vs. Ecomancer. Fight! ^__^_**

**For non-members – The summarized and translated text of Enuma Elish is available in the message section of the Gripe Vines. Just browse there. ^_^ It's open even to non-members. All links are in my bio.**

**WARNING:    If you hate scrolling down just DL (download) this page and print out. Again making up for long updates.**

**READING NOTES (Darn FF.net for not allowing us to use different fonts .):**

_'Text' – Cray's notes_

_Text – thoughts only_

_"Text" - voices in your head_

/Text/ - telepathy

=============================================================================================

**_WORD WATCH_**

Saru – monkey

Carrion birds – carnivorous birds that feed on dead meat or the freshly killed, scavenger birds

Ecomancer – someone with the power to control nature

=============================================================================================

                                                                   **   Chapter 11 **

**                                                                                     Tortured Souls**

          The lone vulture flapped its huge wings and soared over the desolate and barren landscape. Beneath it, craggy mountains rose from the sides and an endless sea of sand and rock stretched out between breaks in the mountain ranges and straight into the horizon. A dry and hot wind blew across the harsh landscape stirring up the sand and carving the magnificent metamorphic rocks of the area into breath taking sculptures. The violent sandstorm had come and gone.

          After its light was briefly obliterated by the huge storm, the sun resumed its incessant beating on the desert landscape below. The entire land baked and burned underneath the sun's eye. Rising hot air gave the illusion of a shimmering landscape as well as those treacherous mirages that lure unsuspecting creatures to their deaths.

          It was as if Hell was on earth.

~*~*~*~*~

          A skeletal hand struggled to hold a pen. A figure that may have once been human huddled beside a dying camel. Only a dusty and ragged cloak protected the figure from the fiery heat of the sun. There was a dry rasping sound as the pen made contact with the parchment. The figure was trying to write.

          _'The sandstorm was finally the last straw that broke the camel's back. In my situation, it was literally the case. I'm the only one left in my caravan now. The others have died out several days ago.'_

          The pen stopped its scratchy sound as the writer turned to the dying animal. The figure began to hum a strange tune and the animal's labored breathing began to slow down until it finally stopped. For a few minutes, silence reigned and then the paper scratching resumed.

          _'I have to make my friend's death easier. She was my companion in this long journey. Now, even the desert had claimed her. Not even the ship of the desert can conquer the __Ocean_ of ___Fire__'_

          The mummified figure removed his hood. Clear blue eyes stared out from the shrunken face. It was once a beautiful face and even in its burned and gaunt state, one could still see that this was once a handsome young man in his early twenties. The once black hair had turned a dull shade of grey. The boy lifted his head and a guttural scream shattered the stillness.

          No one answered him save the wind who threw his voice back at him until it seemed that the echo was taunting him.

          _'My body is gone. However, my mind remains clear. It will stay so until Death claims me. Such are my kind. I will continue to write for as long as my hand allows me.'_

          Clear blue eyes stared over the horizon. In his mind's eye, he saw all the people and animals that had died while making this journey. There was a celebration as they left to cross the ocean of fire. It was a journey to find Life. Instead, Death found them. Now all he could see were the dead bodies that littered the desert. They would be buried underneath tons of sand by now. He himself would have been dead long ago; if it weren't for the fact that he was an heir to the Dragon Clan-one of the 7 Houses of Man. In his veins flowed the blood of ancient powerful beings giving him power and longevity beyond normal humans. Nevertheless, he was after all still human and therefore mortal. 

          _'I can feel Macha's presence beside me. I do not know how much time I have left. Hours? Days? Heirs of the Dragon Clan have always been known for their endurance and strength. These are the times that I wish I was not descended from the Dragon Clan. I fervently wish for the frailty of an ordinary man. That way I would be spared the suffering of a long torturous death.'_

          He stopped writing again as his sensitive ears picked out the cries of carrion birds on the horizon. They had found the others. It will not be long before they find him. Strangely enough, he did not care. Let the birds find him. Let them tear him apart. Let them end his suffering. Eating him alive was so much more preferable than waiting for Death to claim him. Yes, much better than dying a slow horrible death from dehydration and starvation. It will be an excruciatingly slow death since their clan had been known to survive conditions that would kill an ordinary man. So much better to die knowing that his failure had condemned the one he loved the most to a curse death. Her and everyone else.

          _'Almost a year ago I left her to fulfill my destiny as the heir to my clan. Each generation – an heir is chosen to undertake a pilgrimage across the Old Lands, tracing the exact path taken by the First Patriarch as he carried one of the Sacred Treasures to find Agharta._

_          The Sacred Treasure of the Aeons had long since been lost in the mists of Time. The Pilgrimage had become nothing more than a ritual and ordeal to test the worthiness of the heir to lead the Family.' _

_          He stopped and read what he had written. Agharta was said to be the Lost Realms of the Aeons. He had dismissed this as one of the many romantic tales told by his grandfather. When he was 10, his grandfather took him down into a secret room where he was shown the Star of Ashtoreth- the Lady of the Battlefields. It was a beautiful jewel shaped like a pointed tear. At first glance, it seemed to be made of diamond but as he reached out to touch it the jewel gave off a brilliant light. _

          His grandfather was beside himself with joy. At last, the Chosen among the Heirs of the Dragon Clan was found. It was said that the Chosen One will find Agharta, secure the Sacred Treasures and find the descendant of Ashtoreth. It would assure the supremacy of the clan among the other feuding Houses. 

_          'I think she already knew the outcome to this journey even before I bid her goodbye. Her family always had the gift of sight. I called her Xiao Pai Long or Little White Dragon- my little dragon when I first met her. It was only later that I learned that was the nickname her mother gave to her. It was only then that I understood her sad smile whenever I called her that. _

_          My grandfather was very angry. I should fulfill my duties as the __Chosen__ Heir and not waste my time with a girl. But I loved her and despite their protests, I asked her to marry me. The Houses where against me asking to marry her. I should marry one who is an heir of the 7 Houses, someone worthy of my status, not some ordinary wench. How I hate them all for their pretenses. Pretending to be polite and civil on the surface and yet underneath it…underneath it is greed and the lust for power and control. It was a good thing that the Treasures were lost because the Families that were once entrusted to keep it had become corrupted.'_

          At this, he started to laugh bitterly at what he had written.

          _'The old books in our library had always told of the 12 _Chosen___ Families of Men-all descendants of the Aeons who were destroyed 2 Suns ago in the Overdrive. But there was a great war between other Houses of Men and of the 12 only 7 now remain. After this war, the Sacred Treasures of the Aeons were lost. _

_          But I digress...perhaps my condition has finally reached the point where it has begun to affect my mind...but no...Where was I?_

_          Oh yes, the families frowned on my relationship with her. She was a pucha -a derogatory name for the common folk among the Houses. It didn't matter to me. I was alive when I was with her. I love her. She was real and pure. With her, I can drop my guard and be myself instead of pasting a fake smile on my face as I deal with the other Houses knowing that behind their smiles they play a game of power struggles._

_          And then one day everything changed. I was walking in a park with her when a demon attacked us in broad daylight, shedding his human guise as he lunged after her. I was too far to reach her from where I was buying an ice cream cone. I felt my own heart stop as I realized that I might not make it to her side and the demon would tear her to pieces. Demons were always after members of the different Houses for one reason or another. The creature might have thought that if he killed her I would be an easy target since I would be distracted. The next thing I knew I sensed time freeze. My own magic protected me instinctively so I was able to keep moving. I saw her look at the frozen demon and I felt a great force lashed out from her. The creature shattered into a million pieces. She turned to look at me with eyes that were more jewel-like in its lilac color than human before passing out. I caught her in my arms and time resumed its normal course with no one suspecting anything at all._

_          My beloved was a witch. A powerful one at that. I've never heard of anyone stopping time all by his or her lonesome before. Not even from the Houses. True, there are ways to stop time but it was always a team effort. At least 3 powerful members of the Houses were required to accomplish such a feat. If not, an amulet is used-one that was made by several powerful witches and warlocks._

_          However, there was one other Family that had such power. There was one problem. In the Great War an age ago, this Clan was wiped out. So how could she possess their power?'_

          The call of a large bird jerked him back to reality. A huge vulture was sitting on a boulder not very far from him. It eyed him curiously.

_          The bird is waiting for me to die. I must hurry. I do not know how much time I have left. _

          He resumed his writing, ignoring the vulture.

          _'I asked her why she possessed this power. She said she didn't know. That she was born with this. She told me about her family and her curse. For her; the Past, Present and Future are all in the present. If she wanted to, she could see all the different futures. Even as a child, she already knew the place and time for her death and so refused to look beyond that. It was enough for her._

_          I started reading the books in our library and from what I learned and what she told me, as well as what I have observed I feel my own heart sinking. Against all odds- a descendant of the lost clan had survive. But it was more than that...I came across a very old prophecy too that made my blood ran cold. It spoke of a time when the Commandments will weaken and the war that destroyed the Aeons will begin again._

_          It spoke of an Age where as the Commandments weaken, 2 of the descendants of the lost tribes will step up and bear the power of the old. These persons will either restore the Commandments or create a world in their own image destroying this world and the other realms in process._

_          It also said that these descendants will bear the power of the Aeons and will be consumed by it, releasing the Sealed Saint Beast of Old-the one called Kalkin- the Avatar of Destruction._

_          But it is also said that for the power of the Aeons to be unleashed the Sacred Treasures must be found first. In the right hands, the Treasures could be used to restore the Commandments and keep the power of the Aeons sealed. In the wrong hands-I shudder to think of the consequences...'_

          A dry hacking cough forced him to stopped writing for a few minutes. When he was able to regain his breath, he stared at his hands covered in red liquid.

          _Blood... I guess I won't be long in this world... _

_          'I sent out to find the treasures following the clues that I have learned. It finally led me to this desert and to my death. I have failed her. The visions she saw will come true. In less than 3 years she will die as she had told me and the Realms will be plunged into Chaos. She has the power of Heka in her-the creative force wielded by Kali of the Aeons. For that she will die. Someone-another descendant from the Lost Tribes-this one with the power of Akhu-the power wielded by Shiva- will used her power to restore or destroy in the Realms. It has been several years now since I sensed the gathering of Dark Forces in the West. And of course-these accursed dreams which now on hindsight-are not dreams but are the memories of some powerful creature-perhaps Kalkin's._

_          She told me she'd rather die first than submit to the Dark Force. I told her I would find a way to save her. She told me I shouldn't be so naive. She was right. I can't save her. I failed her and for my failure she and the rest of humanity will die..._

_          There was something she said though...she made me promise that if Akhu consumed her I must kill her with my own hands...'_

          His vision started to blur and his hands trembled. His eyes hurt him. His body had no water left to spare for tears. He curled up as his body heaved as he cried, blood taking the place of tears.

          '_Destiny has been cruel to me. He showed me the vision of Agharta and plants Hope in my heart only to lead me to his sister, Death. He will not allow me to return to my lover's arms and stay with her until the end.'_

_          The vulture cried out to it's friends and a few carrion birds started to circle around him. The pen he was holding dropped to the ground. He couldn't write anymore._

_          'I can't even keep my promise~~~~~~'_

          The vultures closed in.

~*~*~*~*~

          Black booted feet walked purposely towards the noisy flock of vultures. The vile creatures were fighting amongst themselves for the biggest share of the meat.

          At the sound of the gravel being crunch by feet, several of the birds looked up and cried disdainfully. A few minutes later, they unhappily relinquished their feast.  Their birdbrains had rightfully concluded that this was not the right time to argue or complain.

          "Get up!"

          A solid kick on his side made him gasped in pain. He looked up through bloody eyes and saw a tall regal figure with black hair and a face half covered by a strange masked. The man was wearing a strange black outfit with a belt around his neck and a serpentine design on his torso.

          'I said get up!"

          Another solid kick. This time he grabbed the foot and suddenly sensed the power behind this man. A god. More importantly- a god of the black fires of hell- "Touda!" He immediately let go. _What was a god doing here?_

          "Get up young fool!"

          Through the haze of pain he managed to glare at the shikigami.

          The man's handsome face twisted into a sardonic smile. "You are finally showing some spirit, young one."

          "Have you come to finish me off Master Touda?"

          "Far from it. I come with a proposal Master Cray."

          He stared at the god unbelievingly. The god of the dark fire knelt down before him and touched his painful face.

          "Descendant of the Dark Dragon Clan, I will save your life so that you can fulfill you're promise."

          Cray's blue eyes widened. He struggled to speak through his parched throat, "In exchange for what?"

          "Your body."

          Cray pushed himself up with difficulty. He realized that the vultures were milling around a few feet away apparently annoyed that someone disrupted their meal. Some of them had managed to tear chunks off his body and he knew he was slowly bleeding to death.

          "You must be kidding."

          "I assure you gaki that I am not."

          Touda's cool fingers reached out for him and he tried to move away but the camel's partially eaten body blocked his effort. The fingers felt soothing to his skin.

          "You and I have the same purpose. You and I want to retain the order between the Realms. I need your human form to accomplish my purpose and you need my power to do yours. And both you and I know that in order to do that your love must die is it not?"

          Cray swallowed painfully. The shikigami spoke the truth. He was unable to find the Sacred Treasures to save her. Therefore the only remaining course was too...

          "She already knew her fate." Touda said. There was a hint of sadness in the god's voice.

          He raised his eyes to the god. "I need a favor."

          "Say it."

          "I want her to hate me. That way..."

          "That way it is easier for both of you?"

          "Yes." Cray's voice was a heartbroken whisper.

          "Done," Touda said quietly in understanding.

          "So be it."

          The god smiled and Cray felt his consciousness slipped away as he and the god became one.

_          I'm sorry my love. I'm so sorry..._

~*~*~*~*~

_                                                "When in the heights heaven was not named,_

_                                             And the earth beneath did not yet bear a name,_

_                                                  And the primeval Apsu, who begat them,_

_                                                And chaos, Tiamat, the mother of them both_

_                                                    Their waters were mingled together,_

_                                           And no field was formed; no marsh was to be seen;_

_                                            When of the gods none had been called into being,_

_                                        And none bore a name, and no destinies were ordained;_

_                                         Then were created the gods in the midst of heaven,_

_                                                Lahmu and Lahamu were called into being..._

_                                                                   Ages increased..."_

          The _arawn's voice still filled Kurama's head as he sat on the rooftop waiting for sunrise. He knew about the __Enuma Elish. He had memorized it as a child when he first came across it in the library of their school. Somehow the lines in the myth were hauntingly familiar to him. To him it was not a myth. A part of him knew for a certainty that this was not only a tale of something that happened in the distant past but also pointed out towards a certain future. _

          There was a war between the Firstborns that destroyed them and laid down the Commandments. Sacred Treasures were entrusted to 12 Chosen Houses of Men. Then a war that destroyed all but 7 of the houses and the loss of the Treasures. The Treasures somehow finding their way to En-ma delivered none other than by En-ma's hunters-a group that hold no love for him and for which the feeling is mutual. A prophecy that foretold of the return of the First Children as the Commandments weaken. The 12 Great Houses of Men somehow gathering again and from their midst 2 will rise bearing the ability to call down the power of _Lahmu and _Lahamu_. _

          And his past. His forgotten past that may perhaps hold the key to understanding his dreams. Tatsumi had said that many of them where having the same dreams. According to the _shinigami_- it seemed more like someone else's memories. All of them were somehow receiving this entity's tortured memories and dreams. Who was this entity? And why were they all receiving his dreams? Were the dreams of a time that already happened or of the future? 

          To add to the already complicated matters, a wizard from the West wanted the power of the First Children. Several important artifacts were already missing from the different vaults in the world. Taken separately the things meant nothing. Together, they could help the wizard figure out a way to reshape the Commandments whichever way he so pleases.

          He absentmindedly fiddled with the amulet. The jewel felt familiar to him. Somewhere deep inside of him he was sure that he had the answer to unlock the riddle of the _Enuma Elish_. If he could only remember his past. And then tied to all this was a song. A song from his childhood.

          He started singing softly to himself, "As bright as snow, eyes like that of the silver moon, he could see through the Ages and none was hidden from his Wisdom. The Shining One-they called him. Shiva." 

          So lost was he in his thoughts that he did not notice someone watching him.

          Hiei's face was unreadable as he watched Kurama and yet one could sense concern from him. He had sneaked up to his friend meaning to talk to him in private. Instead he found a tortured soul singing a haunting song. It seemed the teenager was far away-his mind traveling to a different place and time. Kurama continued to sing softly in that awful hollow voice-devoid of warmth or emotion.

          "Beside him stood his sister-wife, Kali. Beautiful as the stars, with a spirit as bright as the Sun. She was his council, his refuge. To her was entrusted the Secrets and the Mysteries and she held them close to her breast. 'Twas she who declared the Destinies of All."

          The words were not in any language Hiei had known-be it the speech of humans or not. And yet somehow the amulet translated it into something he could understand. He had enough. He stepped forward and made sure that Kurama knew he was there.

          Kurama stopped and stared at him. Looking at those tormented eyes, Hiei felt a flash of recognition that was all too painful. Kurama had the same eyes as him when he first learned as a child that he was unwanted. All the years that he had known the fox, he had never seen him so broken and lost. Not even when Kurama was confronted by the specter of his dead friend-Kuronue.

          "For as long as I can remember that song haunts my dreams as a child," Kurama said slowly. "My old master used to beat me up every time I hum that tune. He did not want me to sing that." He started to laugh-his voice becoming harsh. "But I sang it anyway. He was angry at my defiance but I vowed to kill him once I became stronger. I owed Yroul nothing. The old fool found me as a child in a secret place. That is all he told me of my past. That is all he will tell. "

          He paused as if the memory angered him. When he spoke, his voice was bitterly cold, "I wanted nothing from him except what he could tell me of my past. But he denied me of that. So I killed him and made his head an example to everyone else who defied me."

          Hiei got down on his knees in front of Kurama. Their eyes met and suddenly there was a resounding thwack. Kurama was now holding one side of his face and staring at Hiei with anger. Hiei's palm print was still clearly visible on Kurama's pale skin.

          "How dare you," Kurama's voiced dripped with acid. There was a murderous rage in his eyes.

          Hiei did not budge. Instead he grabbed Kurama's face with both hands and put their foreheads together. The other boy was too shocked to do anything.

          "You're feverish," Hiei spoke finally. It was true. Kurama did feel feverish. Then he added softly," There is a madness in you. Fight it. I will not allow you to lose to it because if you lose to it then what will happen to me?" He pulled Kurama into a sudden embrace, "You showed me another life outside the madness that held me. Because of that I was able to accept Mokuro's gift of life. Do NOT lose to this!"

          The shadow that clouded Kurama's eyes cleared. He let out a ragged breath. Hiei let go and stood up as if nothing happened between the two of them.

          "Arigatou Hiei." There was a slight smile on the redhead's face. It seemed a huge load was lifted off the boy's back.

          "Hn."

          Kurama let out a long ragged breath and sat back, "I hate not being in control."

          "Who doesn't?"

          "I'll find my past."

          "And the Sorcerer Clow?"

          "A long time ago, when I was still Youko in Makai, I gave him something as a gift."

          "That was unusual of you."

          Kurama gave Hiei a dry smile, "Don't remind me."

          "What was the gift about?"

          "That I could not remember. He did say that I will not remember everything until I meet his descendant."

          "Is that why you were so eager to find this Eriol?"

          "Because I think my past and the myth of the _Enuma Elish_ are tied together."

          "Even a _saru could figure that out. The jewel practically jumped to your hand."_

          "As the dagger to yours."

          "Hn."

          Kurama stood up and brushed the dust from his pants. "Let's go back down. The others will probably be asking where we are by now."

          "Botan better not join us tonight."

          Kurama had to laugh at Hiei's expression. Apparently, the fire demon had not yet recovered from his Botan overdose in the airport and in the plane.

          "No. I asked her to look after Shuichi tonight."

          Hiei shoved past Kurama as he made for the door that led back down to the hotel. _Good. The dark mood surrounding Kurama was at least gone. For how long, he didn't know. What mattered was that it was gone for now. The gods had every reason to fear that one. Youko in control was nothing to be trifled with. Youko out of control…_

          _"Red eyes are the mark of a taboo child but those born with golden or amethyst eyes are cursed beings. They should not exist in the first place."_

_          Hiei frowned slightly as he pushed aside Tatsumi's voice in his head. _

~*~*~*~*~

          Pippin watched the two from the rooftop of another building. He felt sorry for Kurama. He wondered what it was like to possess 2 souls-one human, one not. Outcasts. They were all outcasts one way or another. Even he was an outcast among the _arawns being the only one among them who could cast powerful wandless magic. The others had look upon him in suspicion just as they had looked in suspicion on those who practice the old ways. Maybe that's why they sent him in the first place to meet with the __Rei Tantei. It doesn't matter anymore. The die was cast. The _Daes dae' Mar_ was playing out. It started more than a decade ago when Voldemort learned of the myth. Maybe even before that. That was why the wizard was hungry for power. But now despite setbacks, Voldemort was becoming more brazen in his maneuvers. The Houses would not have any of these. They considered themselves superior to everyone else and therefore the only ones worthy to claim the power of __Akhu and __Heka._

          Pippin shook his head in disbelief. The battlefield had already been decided. The _Rei Tantei will help find the rest of the Treasures first before Voldemort does. Should they fail, they would be the first to try to stop the old coot or kill the one who was born with Heka whichever opportunity comes first.  If they find the Treasures first, Kurama's lost memory might be the key to unlocking the secret of re-establishing the Commandments since the boy was certainly older than any of them. It was said that a small golden-eyed creature had handed the Sacred Treasures to the First Patriarchs of the 12 Houses and then disappeared. There was only one such golden-eyed creature in existence._

          His eyes narrowed. In all of the Realms of the Dead, the hunters of En-ma were gathering. Even though the gods had allowed the _Rei Tantei_ on this mission it seemed that, they still did not trust the group. There were whispers in the Great Halls for the death of an _itan._

          And as for the rest of them _arawns_ and _shinigamis? They were having their hands full just tracking down lost souls. One particular soul who fell through the Veil of Death was notoriously difficult to find. The man was after all a powerful wizard with a very strong attachment to the living. What was that man's name? Black…something…ah! Sirius Black! Yes, he was proving himself more than a match to the arawns, having already escaped them several times._

          The natural order of things were clearly disrupted as the Commandments weakened. Time and dimensions were crossing over to each other, the past sometimes repeating itself in the present. And through it all there was only one other person who knew everything and may perhaps help untangle the web- the Sorcerer Clow Reed. But the man was gone and nowhere to be found. Their only lead was a strange family bearing the Sorcerer's unique magic and a boy who is as elusive and infuriating as the Sorcerer himself.

****_In the First Sun, Water ended the World,_

_                                                The Second Sun brought the Divine Wind,_

_                                      While Quakes and Storms heralded the end of the Third Sun._

_                                      And as the Fourth Sun entered, the Jaguar walked the Land._

_                                        When the Fifth Sun will rise on the Tzolkin, the Cadmeans_

_                                            Will once again walk this world and decide its Fate_

_                                      In Tel 'Aran 'Rhiod, Ta' maral' ailen weave's the Thread_

_                                                                   On the Ta' verens_

_                                                The Gaidin will find the one he calls Mashiara,_

_                                                 And as the Daes Dae' Mar begins its dance_

_                                                 Aiels will gather on the holy ground that is_

_                                                          The Gateway to the Realms._

          There were only two places on Earth that could be called the Gateway to the Realms. One was the Lost Realm of the _Aeons_- _Agharta. The other one was…_

          It was going to be a very interesting year in Hogwarts. 

**TBC**

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**Footnotes:**

**1. Ship of the Desert – another name for a camel**

**2. ****Ocean** of ******Fire**** – another name for a desert.**

**3. Agharta – A mythical place like Atlantis. Atlantis is a common name so I used this instead.**

**4. Aeons –Another name for the Endless. Different tribes and races have different names for them. The Indians call them the Anasazi or Ancient Ones.**

**5. Yroul –Ok that part of Kurama's past I invented. I'll write a fic about that one too. The name means Fear.**

**6. Tel 'Aran 'Rhiod – The world of Morpheus-the Endless called Dream. Taken from R. Jordan's Dragon Reborn book.**

**7. Ta' maral 'ailen – Web of Destiny. Again from R. Jordan. I'm sorry. I suck at making up words.**

**8. Ta' veren/s – Someone that the Web of Destiny spins her Thread around with.**

**9. Gaidin – Wanderer**

**10. Mashiara – beloved of heart and soul but a love that cannot be redeemed**

**11. Daes dae' Mar – The Great Game**

**12. Aiels – The Chosen Warriors.**

**13. Enuma Elish – Sumerian Creation myth from where Chaos Chronicles is LOOSELY based. If you want to read the summarized text of the _Enuma Elish_ drop by my yahoo group the **Gripe Vines**. Links on my bio.**

**14. Heka/ ****Akhu – Egyptians believe that the Primeval force is divided into 2. Heka was the creative force while Akhu was the knowledge needed to control Heka. Some similarities between the Asian concept of Yin and Yang. Neither good or bad. In my fic they are Lahmu (Shiva) and Lahamu (Kali-Shiva's sister-wife).**

**15.     That scene between Hiei and Kurama is meant only to emphasize their friendship. You may not like this but the Hiei x Kurama pairing only exists in fandom. I prefer the Hiei x Mokuro pairing that was implied in the anime. ^_^ And in the manga- Kurama had a girlfriend so sorry folks…**

          Oh yeah, before Hiei met the Rei Tantei he was a vicious demon who's only goal was to find the Koorimies (Demon Ice Maidens) and exact his revenge on them for abandoning him. But he changed when he met Kurama and the rest of the Rei Tantei. And then when he fought Mokuro in that last tournament-somehow him breaking her chains was a symbol of them both dropping the last of their barriers. If you notice, he didn't get overly upset to losing to her. Prior to that, when he fought the one who gave him his Jagan he was cut up pretty badly (that was an understatement) but she restored his body.

          Hmmm, I could be wrong though since it has been years since I saw YYH.  X P But bah! Who cares! This is my fanfic mwahahahaha…O.o

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**K. Hikari:        Okay I hope that I was able to make things a little clearer this time. If anyone has any violent reactions or comments send them my way. PLEASE! I need them questions or comments! I want to know if I'm getting through you. I mean it's fine to be told that the story is good but I'd still like to hear your comments on the plot or the characters or the scenes, etc.  _*smiles sheepishly *_ Ehehe, I just want to know my readers POV. **

          For some reason I think there's a plot hole here somewhere but for the life of me, I cannot see it. I was hoping if one of you could kindly point it out. Anyone would like to be my beta-reader/s? Drop me a message. ^_^ Ok, you can go ahead and push that purple/ blue/ whatever button now and review. ^_^

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	13. MONOCHROME ni Somari Yuku Machi de

**DISCLAIMER:          Ch. If you don't like fan fiction why did you come all the way to Chapter 12? **

**Useless Ramblings:**

**Kuwabara**:     **I'm freezing here…**

**Hiei**:**             Does it look like anyone cares?**

**Beta-Readers:        Shiranai Seito and Aeserp. ^__^ Arigatou!**

**K. Hikari:      Due to ****FF.net's strict rules on ratings and due to the fact that some of my readers are under 18, this version of Chaos Chronicles will be rather tame. If you want the hardcore version (it will go into R rating during the later chapters), please go to ****Animespiral.com. I am still currently uploading the previous chapters over there and experimenting with the formatting. **

**WARNINGS:   Another long chapter and long review replies. Feel free to skip the replies if you want too or just read those that apply to you.**

**Review Replies:**

**Dragon Lady Supreme – Oh, I'm not color-blind. It's the monitor. ^_~ Sometimes it's blue, purple oh what the heck I'll take everyone's word for it. It's a lilac colored button. Another thing…I am so relieved that I did not mention Kurama's human age anywhere in the story. For a minute there, I thought I was going to do a huge rewrite. O.o Oh yeah, the baka's misery is just starting. And after Chapter 13 (the chapter after this), lets just say that the Otaku Council member who's assigned in the YYH perimeter will have a hard time controlling Kura-san's fan girl (and fan boy) hordes. ^_~**

**Spirit Girl 2 – I moved to a new place- a dormitory. One, I have to share cable TV rights with other girls and they practically monopolized the shows. No one watches anime. ****-.- Second, my landlady won't allow me my own cable TV connection. ****T_T As to bullies…oh dear, lets just say that in school (and come to think of it-even the world) there are three types of people: The Tormentor, the Tormented, and the Don't give a Damn. I'm afraid I fell in the Tormented category. Kids were also picking on me. I don't know how I dealt with it though. But it does help if you know that your family is there for you. And it also helps if you really KNOW yourself. Yes. The key is knowing yourself. They can pick on you but no one can take your dignity away unless you let them. That's how I dealt with it. Forget trying to figure out why they don't like you. You won't be happy because you are forced to be a person you are not. I could tell you more but it's getting long and the other readers might be it annoyed with this. So if you have email, we can talk about it more if you want. ^_^**

**DMG - You're right. I am confused. ^^;; With your review. Ehehe…confusing but makes sense? Wait, is this a Zen question? _* tries to get her head around the statement * Ok, I give up. This is payback, right? I mean I've teased you all along the chapters so now you're teasing me also with the review? O.o  Nah…sorry…I just need more coffee to really wake up. Thanks for reading and reviewing! ^o^_**

**Kaeru** Soyokaze **– Well I wanted Hiei to hit Kurama with his fist but in Kurama's condition? The fox might react badly and where would that leave poor Hiei? Thanks for the YYH info. ^_^ Hmmm, I wonder…would Muraki make an appearance here…hmmm…then he sees Kura-san_…* chuckles evilly * Oh the mischief!_**

**Shiranai** Seito** – You got my answer in the email, right? Whee! My beta-reader! ^_^ Mwah! **

**Arcia -         Thanks a lot! Hope you like the next installment too. ^o^**

**Kyo**-kun** -     Minna-san! Say hello to the woman behind En-ma's Hunters! Credits go to her. ^__^ It's her own creation. Eto…the names? I dunno…I guess…oh I really can't explain but somehow I can do it…weird huh? It's like when I write my story, I'm just putting to words the movie or manga that I see in my head. @_@ Or maybe 'cause I'm just weird. Did I tell you that I already have the soundtrack for my story. ^_~ Eh, I think I just crossed over **"weird"** and settled firmly into ****"crazy". O.o Is it really that confusing? Hmmm_…* cracks knuckles *_ Got to work more on my characterization and plot then…thanks for telling me. ^_^**

          And now for Chapter 12. In case no one has noticed, all chapter titles are song titles. Yes. Song titles. Jpop, Kpop, Chinese, Euro, Celtic etc. Basically, all the songs that I listen too. Just for fun, I'm giving away special cookies made by Dragon Lady to those who can guess at least three of the songs appearing in the chapter titles for CC. For example: Castle Outsider- the title for chapter 1, is a Korean pop rock song by H.O.T. ^_^

          And just in case someone was really expecting cookies…the cookies are only real in **FF.net. ^_~**

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**WORD WATCH:**

**Monochrome = one color palette only**

**Muzak** = **annoying music that is played non-stop in almost any public establishment**

**Armageddon = End of the world**

**Pheromones = Scent signatures unique to every creature. Animals can tell if someone is afraid or looking for a mate due to pheromones. **

**Gaki= kid**

**Reiki = Spirit power. Used by people in Reikai and a select few in Ningenkai.**

**Youki= Demon energy**

**Kage = Japanese word for shadow.**

**Déjà vu = The feeling like you know something, someone or someplace before even though you know that this was the first time you've met or been there or seen it.**

**Omoishiroi = Interesting.**

**Tidbit:**          In YYH mythology; humans, demons and spirits are ranked according to their power levels. Those classified as Class D and E are weak but still annoying (and can cross the spirit barrier between the human and demon realms). A Class A is something to be feared and avoided with a Class S as the most feared of all levels since it is the highest rank. Creatures classified as A and S cannot cross the spirit barrier because they are extremely destructive if they wanted too. It was not mentioned in the anime how Yusuke was able to get back from _Makai_ after attaining Class S status but I assumed he, as well as Kurama, found a way to seal their powers so they can crossover. Of course, once on the other side they can theoretically unleashed their full strength. Hiei on the other hand can cross both sides with ease having been given the permission by _Reikai_ since he became a frontier guard. His job is to prevent anyone from the two realms illegally or accidentally crossing over to the other side. 

          At least that's how I remember the series. Corrections are very much welcomed. ^_^

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**                                                  CHAPTER 12: MONOCHROME ni Somari Yuku Machi de**

**                                                                  In a City Stained in Monochrome**

          The lights of the city of London lit up the dark night. Even in the late hour and the cold wind blowing across the streets, people still walked the sidewalks. Cars, trains, the subway as well as other modes of transportation moved and added to the noisy din. Huge billboard signs hawked wares as well as women. Clubs and other establishments piped _muzak in an effort to bring in the paying clientele. The city was alive. The rain that fell the past few days did not make an appearance tonight and the people were making the most of it._

          Underneath the light of the full moon, the vibrant city seemed washed in the colors of gray and white. Coexisting along side this city of light and shadows was the world of magic, a world known only to a select few. In this city stained in monochrome, creatures with the power to bring _Armageddon to this world walked both in its shadows as well as in its lights._

          Nevertheless, the denizens of London were blissfully unaware of that. For now.

~*~*~*~*~*~

          With his sleek black hair, handsome dark looks and equally dark outfit; Urameshi Yusuke easily blended in with the rowdy crowd. Anyone observing him would think twice about engaging him into a fistfight. He had a calm, easy-going manner that came from surviving and winning every fight he got himself into. Add to this the apparent ease in which he moved told everyone that this one has been into a LOT of fights and can take it in as well as dish it out. 

          He was also unusually tall for Japanese boys his age and his skin had a tanned shade to it instead of the usual pale coloring of most Asians. That was mainly because of his _youkai_ heritage, but no one in the crowd knew that. For them, the demon realm was just a fantasy created by adults to scare children into obedience. They did not now that one was walking about right in their very midst.

          All around him were the sounds and smells of people and machines. It was nearing midnight and he was in a reclamation area somewhere in London. A bunch of people had turned the broken earth into the perfect dirt road for extreme motor cross racing. It was illegal and that was part of the fun.

          This was the area assigned to him. According to the _arawn__, this was one of the places that the boy Eriol usually hangs out. Yusuke walked around again observing everyone. Young people gathered as they tricked out their machines, placed bets and played loud music. He even saw several couples making out in the open that made him blush and run the other way. All the while, the roar of engines, the voices of people and the smell of machine oil, grease and human stench assaulted his sharp senses. It made him feel exhilarated. This was his kind of crowd. No pretenses. Rough and tumble. Just the way he liked it._

          How a refined boy like Eriol would hang out in this place, he had no idea. The way the _shinigami described Eriol reminded Yusuke of Kurama. He could not imagine Kurama hanging out here. Not even Youko. The guy was just too refined for this crowd. Even Kurama's killing methods were clinical now that he thought about it. _

          However, for some reason, Eriol was spotted here repeatedly. Then the _arawn_ and/or spirit detective tracking him would loose him. The boy would again be spotted miles away.

          _Man, I would love to meet that guy. He seems pretty interesting. After all, if he managed to lead everyone into a merry chase then he must be something powerful. I wonder what it would be like to fight a powerful wizard or a magician. Would it be the same as fighting Yomi or other S class demons? How would a wizard fight back?_

          His thoughts were abruptly interrupted when a hand was placed on his shoulders.

          "Hey there Jap boy. You're new."

          He turned to face an older man hideously deck out in ostentatious jewelry. Drape on the man's arm was a nubile teenager who looked even younger than Keiko. He frowned. He did not like the guy.

          "Let see here, Jap boy. Since you're new, I'll cut you some slack. See here..." the man gestured around with huge blocks that passed for his arms. He was apparently counting on their age difference and his own sheer size to intimidate Yusuke. "This is my territory. Anyone who passes by must pay a fee. You understand English?"

          Yusuke ignored him and instead looked at the girl. The girl looked frightened at the man holding her.

          "Are you alright, Miss?"

          The girl looked at him wide-eyed. _No, he guessed not._

          "Hey, boy! I'm talking to you!" The big man shoved Yusuke backward. Or, at least he tried to. Yusuke didn't even budge. The man's eyes widened. He had tried to push the Japanese boy backward but it felt more like he was pushing against a solid brick wall.

          "Bad idea, big guy." Yusuke grabbed the man's arm and twisted it back, careful not to use too much strength. Snapping this guy in two like some brittle twig would be so easy for him. Amazing how _ningens are so frail. But maybe it's because he's stronger now. Very strong._

          Yusuke turned to the girl who was still staring unbelievingly at them. "Go home. This isn't your crowd."

          "I...I can't. I owe him money." She stammered.

          Yusuke gave her his trademark grin. "Don't worry. He's canceling it, right?" 

          The man tried to protest but a slight pressure applied by Yusuke made him agree.

          "See."

          "I...uhm...Thank you!" With that, she took of running, brown hair flying in the breeze.

          He turned to the guy. "I don't want anymore trouble. You hear?"

          The man growled at him, "I'll get you for this do you know that!"

          Yusuke smiled and the man trembled. The Japanese boy's smile looked feral. Yusuke brought the man up close, hauling the man's big body with ease. Slowly he showed the man a glimpse of the other side of Yusuke-the one that had _Reikai_ up in knots.

          Long fangs appeared as he continued to grin at the man. A faint trace of the _Toushin's_ markings appeared on his skin and face and his hair seemed longer, sharper and moved like it was alive. The man's eyes widened in fear.

          "Who...what...are you?!"

          "Your worst nightmare. If I were you...Back. Off."

          The man dropped to the ground with a thud and scrambled away obviously shaken. 

          "I don't know why he even hangs around here anymore."

          Yusuke spun around at the sound of a new voice hurriedly returning to his human form. A girl dressed in red biker racing outfit was standing there. 

          _Oh man I hope she didn't see my semi-transformation._

          "My name's Kelly by the way. And you are?"

          _Whew! Good. She didn't see that part._

          "Urameshi Yusuke...I mean Yusuke Urameshi...sorry...your names here are backwards."

          "Backwards?" the girl named Kelly asked. One delicate eyebrow was raised in question.

          "Never mind. It's nothing. Wait what do you mean by that guy..." Yusuke thumbed at the guy who was still running as fast as his bulky body would allow away from the area and running into many people in the process.

          "Oh him. Nah. He's a pain in the ass around here. A bunch of us kids found this place and thought it perfect for our night activities-" she gestured around. "You know, where we could race our bikes to our hearts content without squares butting in."

          He was watching her speak. The way she talked about the place reminded him of Keiko, the way Keiko's face would light up whenever she was talking about something close to her heart.

          "Uhmm...pardon...squares?"

          "Uh huh. You know the type. The kind who are so uptight about rules and all. Well you know, just when things were really taking off, that guy and a bunch of his goons came in the scene and started collecting fees for using this place. They also demanded a portion of the proceeds from the games. There was a fight for awhile but Eriol soon put a stop to that."

          "Excuse me, Eriol?"

          She nodded. Her smile was so bright now.

          "Yeah. I mean he's just dreamy. I don't know what he said or did to those guys but they never gave us trouble anymore. So we're free to do our own thing here."

          "But that guy..."

          "Oh yeah...he shows up from time to time to try to con newbies. Some of them fall for it and we have to bail them out. But," she stopped and winked at him. Yusuke felt himself blush. She was pretty after all.

          _Man, I am so dead if Keiko finds out about this._

          "But," she continued. "You didn't fall for that. And the way you just handled him. Wow."

          "Ah...eh...uhm..." _Really, how do you reply to that?_ Yusuke thought. _And how the hell do I stop blushing for heaven's sake!_

          "Well anyway. Nice meeting you, Yusuke, but I have to get back to my girls. The game's almost starting. Wish me luck!" And with that, Kelly ran off to join the starting line leaving Yusuke still smiling stupidly.

          _Oh shit! I forgot to ask her about Eriol!_

~*~*~*~*~*~

          Kazuma stretch and let out a long yawn. It had been a long day for all of them. After getting to the hotel and trying to recover from jet lag, they had all been awakened for a meeting at early dawn. From then on, the rest of the day had been spent on a crash course on Western magic. Eastern and Western arts were as different as night and day. Both required different methods to use. Eastern arts emphasized on oneness with the universal force and harmonizing _chi_. Western magic did away all that and used tools to gather and use _chi. Hence the whole swish and flick thing with a wand that made his wrist hurt, made Hiei want to burn the entire area into cinders and made Yusuke go positively nuts._

          After years of being taught how to tap and reach deep into one's core to use chi in amazing ways, here was a form of technique that relied on amulets, charms, spells, etc. to work. It would take a lot of getting used too. Western technique allowed someone with very little _reiki_ to work magic because the tools gathered the necessary energy for them. 

          Kazuma snorted. Western techniques as far as he was concerned were just using shortcuts to achieve the same results as Eastern techniques minus the long torturous and arduous training. That made them pushovers in his opinion.

          He was after all trained to gather_ chi_ without any use of tools. _Heck, he could even do it in his sleep._ Then the temporary wand he was practicing with exploded in his face. It couldn't handle his _chi. Then Yusuke's and finally Hiei's. Only Kurama's wand was intact._

          Tatsumi had to explain to them that since they have very high _chi _levels they only need to expend a little of their energy to use the wands. Pippin muttered something about the _Rei__ Tantei being 220 volts plugging into a 110-volt socket. He tuned that one out. That _arawn_ never really made much sense.  During their meeting, Tatsumi had to steer Pippin back to the topic on hand because the man had a tendency to wander during his talk._

          Kurama said the key was a gentle, delicate and controlled flow of _chi_ because Western magical tools tend to amplify _chi_. It works great on those with low-level _reiki but for those like them...well, things happen and not exactly the way you want it. In a way, Western magic is difficult for them because they have to learn control and achieved a delicate touch to __chi manipulation for them to work Western tricks. Otherwise...**_kaboom_****_._**_

          _Right. Try teaching gentle, delicate and controlled to Yusuke, Hiei and...well, him._

          Hiei had grumbled as to why they had to learn to do this anyway when they weren't really required to join the classes. Just show up. Observe. Kick Western magic butts if anybody tries to mess with him.

          Yusuke seconded the motion until finally Tatsumi shut them all up by saying something about knowing your enemy followed by one hour of being immobilized thanks to Tatsumi's _kages__. Only Hiei was spared the indignity because Kurama had given him his usual look that said just bear with it you might learn something new. _

          Kazuma had long since known that the fire demon was smart and despite his gruff manners was as observant as Kurama. He also knew that guy would not pass up an opportunity to get to know his opponent more. Hiei after all hated losing. As to who their opponent will be remains to be seen.

          There were talk about Death Eaters, magickal families, and the Order of the Phoenix. The Death Eaters were definitely bad since they were henchmen of this Voldemort wizard who'd been stirring up trouble in the West. The Order of the Phoenix, good since they were organized to stopped the Death Eaters and that Voldy goat. The families? Big question marks. And as to how to distinguish if someone belonged to one group or the other, another question mark. Although the Death Eaters had some marks somewhere on their bodies you can't just go around asking anyone to show them their marks. _That'd__ be stupid. He wasn't THAT stupid._

          But right now, all he wanted to do is sleep. They have a few more days of practicing swishing and flicking before they finally go to Hogwarts. And he was so freaking tired with all this.

          He groaned and shifted his foot. He had been standing in front of this friggin' university for hours. _It was night for crying out loud! Everybody would be home by now. Nobody's holding midnight classes._ Except Tatsumi won't let him go home yet. _No siree. He had to wait for Tatsumi's mental signal that Eriol was definitely not there before going home._

          _Aw__ crap. That kid better be here cause I'm freezing my ass right now._

          The cold night wind blew whipping his long trench coat around him. He moved back into the bushes while rubbing his hands vigorously.

          _Oh he'd better be worth the trouble, that runt._

~*~*~*~*~*~

          A shadow flitted across the trees surrounding the manor. Hiei couldn't get any closer without tripping the protection wards placed around the estate. He'd circle the huge estate several times already and he still couldn't find a break in the protection ward. A small smile danced on his lips. Kurama would love this place. The fox wouldn't be able to resist a challenge like this.

          But then, so did he. That was one of the reasons he and Kurama got along so well. Both were thieves but between him and Kurama, the _kitsune__ was definitely the acknowledged master. That one never met a security system that he wouldn't be able to crack._

          Ah, but this one had probably the best security system that Hiei had ever seen. Magic was woven skillfully around present human technology creating a fail-safe system. Should one system fail, another would counter-act the failed system. AND should any system fail- an alarm would be tripped inside the house. His _jagan_ traced the faint lines of magic weaving in and out of the house like a giant spider's web. Anyone uninvited would definitely disturb the lines and alert the people inside. He knew for a fact that several people in _Makai__ would give quite a sum to have a system like this on their own territories. _Hell, maybe pacifier breath should hire this kid to beef up the security in Reikai.__

          _That boy certainly knows how to protect himself...wait..._

          He focused his _jagan_ again. No. The systems weren't meant to keep everything out. Rather it was meant to alert the people inside as to who was outside. If it was welcomed, it would pass unharmed. If not…

          There were several traps and other devices, magical and technological, waiting for the uninvited. _No problem._ He could handle those. He moved forward again, this time closer to the perimeter.

          _Lets see...hmmm...I think I can exploit that...it's the closest thing to a weakness in the system._

          He had to get inside to see if that kid Eriol was there. For some reason, he was wary of this magician. True. This Eriol was human and he does HAVE a very low opinion on _ningens__ but something inside tells him this was not someone to underestimate. Not after hearing about this guy from the __shinigamis__. _If he was really related to Clow Reed and if Clow Reed really did affect Kurama that badly...no...best not to underestimate this human. First find out what makes this guy tick and then we'll take it from there.__

          He was a few feet closer to the boundary line when all at once the security system rearranged itself. He stared in disbelief. 

          _What the? The friggin system adapts?!_

          _Shit. There was no way he was going to get inside. That _gaki_ certainly thought about all possible entry angles. Now the security was ready for him. His speed won't help him get past the defenses and something in the way the magical lines glowed told him that his __jagan__ won't help him too. Using his youkai powers won't do too since that would only alert those inside and warn Eriol of his presence whether the kid was there or not._

          He moved back to the shadows and up against the trees. He sat and mulled there for a while thinking about several angles of approach and always coming up with a blank wall.

          _Crap. How would Kurama handle this?_

          He wouldn't know until later when he can ask the fox. Kurama was somewhere away in another area, on a stakeout in another place that the boy, Eriol, was known to hang out. 

          Suddenly, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He looked around quickly. Someone was watching him. His gaze fell back on the huge house far away from the trees. The presence or rather presences were there...watching him...and..._Laughing at him?!_

          Irritation and anger boiled up inside him. He had been spotted. All his attempts at breaking in had been observed with amusement. They had been aware of him all along and had been content to watch him make a fool of himself because they knew their defenses would hold. 

          _Oh they would pay dearly for mocking him. _

          /Right, fire demon. /

          /And how? You can't even get in and you weren't even aware of us until we let you know. /__

          Laughter.

          Hiei's mood decidedly took on a murderous aura. No one laughs at Jaganashi Hiei. He'll find a way in even if it took him all night. And when he does...

          /I'm going to enjoy ripping you apart. /

          /Sure. You can try. /

          /You like ice cream? We have some here left to share to you. IF you could get here. /

          Laughter again.

~*~*~*~*~*~

          He sat on the park bench pretending to be waiting for someone while reading a book. A few men and a lot of women did double takes whenever they saw him. Kurama was wearing an all white ensemble of matte leather pants and a white turtleneck shirt to ward of the chill of the night. Dark red hair fell and framed a face that took many breaths away. A white leather coat with fur trimmings lay beside him and occasionally he would look at his watch.

          He took of his glasses and placed them on top of the book that he had been reading. He didn't really need the glasses. It was all for show really. No one would suspect that someone who stood out like him was up to anything good. _I mean if you were tracking down someone the last thing you'd do is stick out like a sore thumb._

          That was why he wore white. If anyone would be getting suspicious that they were being followed their attention would be on that hobo milling around the vicinity or that man who looked straight out from the Matrix movie, or that girl who looked like an extra on the movie MIB. He would be the last thing they suspected because he stood out.

          Okay. So his outfit didn't really scream attention to all and sundry. It was rather modest compared to the other people walking around in the park. But it was the way he wore it and the way he looked in it. He looked calm, and poised. Just like a proper gentleman. The glasses also added a few years to him so he didn't look too much like a high school student. 

          But damn. Anyone could see this guy was sexy as hell.

          He sensed a few actually debating on themselves whether they should approach him. There were also a few others whose pheromones he could detect. If this was another situation he knew that Youko would gladly toy with them-both women AND men. But not now. He was on a mission. 

          He leaned back on the bench with a casual manner and crossed his long legs. At the same time he stole a glance at the house across the park that he was watching. 

          The Porsche was still there. He had to admit that the kid certainly had excellent taste in cars. He had seen someone that looked like the description of Eriol get out of the car and enter the house a few hours ago. Whether it was really Eriol who was there or not remained to be seen. The boy, it seems, had an uncanny ability to be in two or three places at the same time. One minute, _arawns__ were tracking him down. The next minute, another _arawn___ would report that he was half-way across the town, befuddling the others who had reported seeing him just a few seconds ago. That was why the __Rei_ Tantei_ was asked by the bureaucrats to watch out for the kid in his known watering holes. Maybe they could catch him. They were after all THE _Rei___ Tantei._

           He had caught the snide in that last remark. So did the others. Tatsumi just frowned at this and made no comment. He knew the _shinigami didn't like the Western Ministry of the Dead anymore than any of them did. For some reason, like everything else, the West had a tendency to patronize the East. It was true in the past; it was true even in Death. The West was enlightened. The East need to be brought to the light. _

          _Right. Do they even knew that the very foundations of their civilizations sprang up in the East?_

          He turned his attention back to the house. With his _chi_ he could see the magical aura surrounding the old house. It was a typical London old home- old and dignified. He found it amazing that the owner didn't even bother to hide the magical aura. The house continued to glow softly in the night.

          All things-living and non-living, have their own aura but this house was definitely brighter than the others. Bright enough to get your attention but not too bright for it to practically jump at you. It seemed to be saying to him, _"So I'm a little different from the others. So what."_

          /I see you. /

          He jumped at the sudden intrusion to his thoughts.

          /I know what you are up to, kitsune. /

          Kurama stood up and pretended to gather his things, ignoring the mind voice. _Just a normal person here who'd waited long enough for his companion to come._

          /You can't fool me. /

          He gave up trying to pretend that he wasn't what the other suspected. He turned and started to walk towards the house with the sole purpose of confronting the speaker then froze.

          Standing beside the Porsche was a boy more or less his human age. He had dark hair and equally dark eyes hidden behind glasses. The boy's dark clothes allowed him to blend in the dim light. If it weren't for the pale skin that glowed softly in the light of the lampposts, Kurama would never had seen him with his _ningen__ eyes. Kurama was suddenly hit by a sudden strong wave of __Deja__ Vu. _

          _Eriol__. He knows Eriol?_

          /Not bloody likely kitsune. / The boy across the street smiled.

_          Clow Reed used to smile like that too...What the hell?_

          /Ah! So you are beginning to remember. _Omoishiroi_._ /_

          /You! I want answers from you. /

          The two stared at each other across the street, both a study in contrasts. Kurama in white, Eriol in black. The comparison and irony was not lost on both young men. The ruthless demon in human guise wearing white, the color of good. The magician in black, the color of evil but as to whether he was evil or not nobody could tell. Then Eriol flashed that mysterious smile of his again.

          /Then come, Youko. Catch me...if you can. /

**TBC**

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**K.H.:   Kelly-san! Waii! I hope you didn't mind when I turned you into a cool biker gal, right? I was looking for a name and well, your name popped up in my head. Ehehehe…Am I forgiven or will this mean that I'm banned forever in your e-group. . Gosh, I hope not. Yusuke made me promise not to tell Keiko about this. ^o^ **

          Anyone else here who can hazard a guess as to who or what was laughing at Hiei's attempt to break in Eriol's house? Clue: two Clow Guardians. ^_^ Oh, right. There are four Clow Guardians, remember? Two for Eriol and two for Sakura. ^_~

          Anybody else can guess whose house Kurama was watching and why Eriol was there? 

          Ok. Go push lilac colored review button now. ^_^

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	14. Yume wo mite 'ru anata wa

**DISCLAIMER:**          The usual blah blah about intellectual rights and who owns whom, etc. 

**Beta-Readers:**                           Shiranai Seito and Aya-san. ^_^ Bless them.

**Yami**** no Matsuei Consultant:**      Kyo-kun and her partner in crime, Library Cat. ^o^ They also have one mean x-over YnM HP fanfic going on. Links are in my bio. Do check it out!

**Magical and Wiccan Consultant:**  Dark Angel _Hime_ –- My friend from the moon. ^_^

**Support Group:**                          **_The Otaku Council_** in the yahoo group **_The Gripe Vines_**__

**Apologies:                 **Virus outbreaks on PCs and in the Net so it took sometime for my beta-readers and me to get back with each other. In addition, we had other lives too so _gomen_ if this was so delayed. Anyway, Chapter 14 will be up soon since it is more or less done too.

**Review Replies:        **Please check out my **_Fanfic_** **_Writer's Corner_** blog in **E-bloggy.com**. Link is in my bio. This chapter is _veerrry_ long (14 pages O_o) so I temporarily placed the replies there. _Gomen_. 

**WARNINGS:**   _Reikai__ Tantei_ in Europe = mayhem in London. Oh god, somebody save the Queen. O_o

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**WORD WATCH:**

**Onmyoujitsu** – Spirit related magic. Different from other magic in that it concerns more on the Balance of things. Also a Japanese term for certain Japanese type of magic.

**Onmyouji**– A caster of onmyoujitsu.

**Slyphs** – Elemental creatures of the air.

**Vertigo** – A sensation where you can't tell which way is up or down. Commonly experienced by people afraid of heights _(Gack! I can so empathize. .)_

**Maboroshi**– A Japanese term for a very strong illusion magic.

**Mahou** – Japanese word for magic.

**Matte** – Short for _chotto__ matte yo_ which generally means wait.

**Doppelganger** – There is a story that fairies would come into the room of a baby that they fancied and take it away. In order for the parents not to miss the child, they leave behind an exact copy of the child. The doppelganger would then act, speak and look like the original except it is not the original. Think Mirror card in CCS. Other term is 'changeling'.

**C'est**** la vie** – French for "That's life"

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**READING NOTES (Darn FF.net for not allowing us to use different fonts .):**

_'Text' _–notes

_Text _– thoughts only

_"Text" _- Voices in your head (reader or character). In Shakespeare's play these are sometimes called 'asides'. In asides, a character speaks to the audience in a conspiratorial manner as a way of drawing them in the story. If my definition is wrong please feel free to send hate mail to my English teacher in college. ^_^

/Text/ - telepathy

_(Text)_ - Talking or arguing with your self.

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**                                                            Chapter 13: Yume wo mite 'ru anata wa**

**                                                                                    You Who Dream**

_          "Hello, Traveler._

_          Let me be your guide to the House of Reed. Now watch your step and be careful to follow me. Do not wander for who knows what tricks the Magician has up his sleeve. _

_          My name you say? My name is not important for now. What is important is that you know that strange, beautiful and TERRIBLE things are going to happen. _

_          When you ask? Who knows, the Future is hidden from ordinary mortals. No, Traveler. Trust me. You do not want to know the Future. You will meet it soon enough. _

_          Yes, yes. I know. Our Future should be in our own hands, right? Not this time, I'm afraid. The Fate of the Three Realms is not just for anyone to decide. It is best left to the Ta'verens._

_          What can we do, you say? Believe. Yes, dear Traveler. Believe. We must believe that the Ta'verens will make the right choice. As to what is the right choice...who knows?_

_          However, let us set those weighty matters aside for now. Que sera sera, whatever will be, will be. Right now, you have to pay attention as I guide you into the House of Reed. And remember, do not wander or you will never know where you might end up._

_          Ahaha, you are right. This place IS worse than Hogwarts. _

_          See the light at the end of this corridor? That's the sitting room. Two of Reed's children are there. I'll take you to see them but we are observers, ne? Do not address them. They will not even know we are here. _

_          Oh, do not look so skeptical. I too have my gifts. I brought you here without harm, didn't I? _

_          Who is Reed? You'll get an idea soon enough. Go ahead. The door is open. Trust me. Watch and listen."_

~*~*~*~*~*~

          "Is the _youkai_ gone?" A small orange head peeked out from a half-eaten mound of chocolate cake. The cake was sitting atop a round table near a roaring fireplace. A huge window whose rich draperies were pulled back slightly, fronted a comfortable sofa where a huge navy blue panther was sprawled luxuriously.

          The big cat lifted his head disdainfully and gave the first speaker a withering look.

          "Whaaat?" the first speaker whined. Small white wings fluttered and we can now see the first speaker's complete form as he moved away from the cake and flew towards the blue cat. 

          "_His name is Cerberus, Traveler. _

          _Do you find it ironic that a talking orange plush toy is named after the guardian hound of Hell?_

          _Yes, Reed-sama always had a quirky sense of humor. Oh, I see you noticed the cat's butterfly wings. His descendant, Eriol is no better than he is, I'm afraid, when it comes to quirkiness. However, you could also argue that Reed and Eriol are one and at the same time, they are two different people. Confused? Let me explain. The 12 Houses of Men, they are connected not by bloodlines but by magical lines though the bond is usually stronger when they are not only connected by magic, but by blood as well. Eriol is his magical descendant. Reed made Cerberus-that zippy, cheerful Sun Guardian. Cerberus represents and possesses the power of the sun in all its brilliant glory. Eriol made Spinel Sun. Spinel is the personification of the subtle but still powerful strength of the rising and setting sun. And as you can see, they are both polar opposites. Two sides of the same coin and both equally powerful._

_          But enough explanations. Just listen to them for now."_

          "I was EATING for Pete's sake! Are you holding that against me?"

          "Yes."

          "Bleh! You need a personality, Suppi."

          "No thank you. I like mine as it is, Kero." Spinel snapped using Cerberus's other nickname.

          Kero stopped flitting around the panther and settled on the armrest of the sofa. He went very still as he stretched out his senses and touched a few of the magical lines that crisscrossed the world. Through it, he could get a feel of the events that were unfolding.

          "Oh, the demon was called away," he said after a while.

          "No, duh," was Spinel's curt reply.

          "They found Eriol," Kero said again after a few more minutes.

          "So?"

          "Aren't you worried?"

          "We're talking Eriol here, hello."

          "Fine! But I'm still worried."

          Spinel ignored his older brother and continued to lounge lazily. So far, he was ignoring the cake. He was pleased because at other times, he would be wolfing it down too and that would not be good. He had a tendency to loose control when he was on a sugar high.

          "Now what is Eriol up to now?" Kero said suddenly. He was still tapped into the magical lines.

          Spinel just shrugged, "He'll tell us eventually. That, or suddenly everything will make sense."

          There was a moment of silence as Kero detached himself from the magical lines and let his own mind absorbed what he had just learned.

          "I don't feel comfortable leaving Sakura_-san_ behind." Kero said after a while. There was a worried knot on his small round head.

          "You don't trust the Li Family?" There was a sneer in Spinel's voice. Spinel knew that Kero and Shaolan weren't exactly getting along even though both had acknowledged each other as Sakura's protector. Kero was Sakura's Guardian and well, Shaolan, was Sakura's boyfriend who at one time willingly sacrificed all his memories and feelings to the last of the Clow Cards in exchange for Sakura's safety and happiness.

          "Ch." Kero pouted. The Li family did have immense magical powers but still HE was Sakura's guardian. He looked at Spinel, "And you're ok leaving your Master behind?"

          "Unlike you, older brother, we do not get overly emotional and attached. Eriol has instructed us so we obey."

          "Ch. Just as cold as Yue." Kero made a face at Spinel

          Spinel ignored him. He was far too refined for such childish antics. "Do not compare us to our eldest. His feelings for Clow Reed run deep, though he will not show it. Yue has a vow to fulfill. And so do you. You've sworn it on Clow Reed's sister's deathbed."

          "Yeah, yeah. Cake, Suppi?"

          Spinel eyed him with distaste. _Stupid Akizuki for calling me Suppi in front of everyone. Now the nickname stuck._

          This time Kero shrugged. "Suit yourself. More cake for me then."

          "Ugh. Why do you like that form so much?"

          "Huh? You mean this? Two reasons, one is that I'm extremely portable..."

          Spinel groaned.

          "...and two, food portions are bigger in this form!"

          The cat shook his head. Of all things, to be stuck at home, alone with a prat like his brother Kero. 

          "Oh loosen up, Suppi!"

          "Do NOT call me Suppi!"

~*~*~*~*~*~

_          "Let's go, Traveler. Our time in that House is over. There are other things that I want to show you. Take my hand and do not be afraid. Yes. Now hold on. I will not let anything harm you. You are in my Realm and I am the Master here. I will take you somewhere else_

_          Behold, Traveler. The city of __London__. Isn't it beautiful at this height? Look at that beautiful view. See how the outline of the city's buildings meet the dark of the night. See how the lights in the skyscrapers twinkle like stars. And the moon! Look at it. It hangs like a perfect pearl on midnight blue velvet._

_          Relax. I will not let you fall. My cloak will protect you from the bitter wind and I will hold you. Eh? No, we are not flying. At least not, as how you understand flying. Shh...I told you, this is my Realm and I am Master here. This Realm encompasses all.  Reality is how I wished it or rather how you wished it. _

_          But don't fret. All will be clear in time._

_          Yes, people do look like insects from this height. But that isn't what I wanted to show you. Look. Yes. Over there. See that man? The one that is hovering below us in the very heart of the city._

_          He is a God of Death._

_          Don't be afraid. He does not see nor sense us. He has other more important things in mind to think about. I'll show you."_

~*~*~*~*~*~

          The wind whipped Tatsumi's long coat ferociously. The biting cold had no effect on him. An _ofuda_ that he'd cast took care of that. Now he was free to concentrate on the chase. He was hovering way up high in the center of the city coordinating the _Rei__ Tantei_ as they chased the magician Eriol. The boy did not seem to have any particular place to go to in mind and seemed content in leading the group into a merry chase. So far, Eriol's Porsche kept making random turns and just when Tatsumi thought that he and the _Rei__ Tantei_ had cornered the car, the car would suddenly make a surprising turn and they'd be off again.

          Kurama had found Eriol and immediately notified them. It didn't help that he, Tatsumi, was right in the middle of a discussion with high-ranking _arawns_. The _arawns_ had grumbled at his rudeness for suddenly leaving the meeting but he couldn't care less. It was so damn boring. Nothing important was really discussed. At least nothing that he already didn't know. It took all his self-control not to yawn or roll his eyes. The European branch of the Bureaucracy of the Dead was well...dead. Everyone was more concerned about politicking rather than getting the job done. Hence the profusions of wandering spirits in Europe. And the power levels that the _arawns_ possessed were frighteningly low. But maybe that was because he was comparing the _arawns_ with their penchant for wands to the _shinigamis_.

          _How in blazes did Western onmyoujitsu sunk so low?_

          He could still remember when powerful western magicians walked the earth. _What happened to their descendants? Why was the quality of their magic so degraded to the point that magic was mostly practiced not to harness and maintain the balance of things but rather to make a wizard's life easier?_

          All the more reason to find the boy Eriol. The boy's magic strongly resembled that of Clow Reed and Clow Reed's magic was unique in that it was neither Western nor Eastern derived. Perhaps Eriol could also explain the strange bursts of magical aura in Japan from time to time. No one could trace the source of the magic because no one could identify the signature. The magick used was unlike anything anyone had known- it was both ancient and new. It was, in a certain way, the same as Tsuzuki's _onmyoujitsu_. Nobody knew what it EXACTLY was and nobody knew where it was derived.

          And they had to know because the magick that the Commandments was based on was unknown. If someone who doesn't have the three Realms' best interests in mind figured it out, all Hell would break loose. Literally.

          With his eyes closed, his mind's eye could see the movements below. He'd filtered out the distractions - people, other vehicles - and focused on five presences. The five auras flared brightly amidst the backdrop of magical and lifelines. In his peripheral sense, he could just make out other _arawns_ who were struggling to keep up with the five. Eriol's essence was a changing kaleidoscope of colors. The _Rei__ Tantei's_ auras reflected their personalities. The _arawn_s' auras were more subdued compared to the five, a testament that all was not well in Europe's Processing Bureau.

          Hiei was coming from the southern side of the city and heading straight for the car. He'd come from the Hiirigazawa Manor and Tatsumi sensed that the boy was rather pissed at something. Whatever that was bothering Hiei did not seem to affect his speed. The little fire demon was fast- even on foot. He'd used the rooftops as jumping points and if any mortal would accidentally look up, all they would see was a shadow blurring past. To Tatsumi, Hiei was a bright fireball streaking on the face of the city.

          Yusuke was equally fast; but unlike Hiei who avoided human contact, the _Toushin_-human hybrid didn't think twice about using the streets. Thrice, Yusuke had jumped the length of the wide streets and crashed several rooftops. The occupants of said buildings wondered if something must have fallen from the sky.

          /Tatsumi! Where do I turn next? /

          /Turn right, Yusuke and keep going east. /

          /.../

          /Careful. There's monstrous traffic ahead of you. /

          /Heh. /

          Tatsumi grimaced as he realized that Yusuke wasn't going to avoid the traffic jam. The teenager blazed through the streets, causing several people to scream as something incredibly fast whizzed by. A few cars turned over with the sudden force and two buses sported wrecked roofs. Yusuke was nothing more than a green-blue blur.

          He heard a few _arawns_ at the background grumble at the recklessness of Yusuke. A small smile crept on Tatsumi's lips. The _arawns_ were struggling to keep up with the _Rei__ Tantei_. Their magick and enchantments could barely allow them to keep up with the group. Even a few that were on brooms could not catch up. They were simply not prepared to deal with abilities shown by the _Rei__ Tantei_ and the cunning tricks of the Magician.

          _Don't they realize that Eriol has cast some sort of magical web?_

          The magician had bent the Rules so that no matter how fast the _Rei__ Tantei_ or his other pursuers went, they could never exactly catch up with the car. Reality was slightly altered for the Magician's purpose. The chase was happening slightly discordant with the rest of world. It was almost dreamlike.

          That was why he was up here, away from the effects of the spell. He could see the fine invisible web that Eriol had thrown up over the city. Since he could see it, he could guide the _Rei__ Tantei_ to where Eriol was. Kurama had figured it out a few minutes into the chase and told Tatsumi the plan. It wasn't in exact words. It was as if he understood what the fox wanted him to do - more empathy than telepathy.

          In theory, it was supposed to work. In theory.

          /Very good _shinigami_. You and the fox are quite clever. You make an excellent team. /

          /Oh, shut up Eriol. We'll get you. /

          Chuckle.

          /Yes. I don't doubt that, Mr. Secretary. But not tonight. /

          Tatsumi didn't reply. Kurama had just sent him a thought. _Change of strategy._

          /Not tonight, _shinigami__._ Tonight I am having fun. / Eriol seemed quite happy to ignore his silence.

          /We saw through your tricks. Give it up. / Tatsumi finally replied. Eriol didn't seem to suspect anything from his brief silence.

          /True… But then, aren't your people still chasing me? /

          _Damn._

          /I thought so. /

          /WHERE THE HELL AM I? /

          The mental equivalent of a yell disoriented Tatsumi for a moment before he regained his composure. _Damn! Kuwabara. The bloody idiot!_

          /Tsk. Tsk. One of your charges seems to be lost, Tatsumi_-san_. / Eriol chided Tatsumi.

          /I'll let _En-ma_ know that I will personally escort you to _Meifu_. /

          /I'm honored. When it's my time to go I'll specifically request for you. /

          The mental link was broken as Eriol withdrew. Tatsumi could now see Kuwabara. The kid was lost. He was closest to Eriol's general location in relative terms. But since he did not have the speed of the three, Tatsumi had instead pointed him to short cuts that more or less took him closer to the chase.

          Despite possessing a high _reiki_for a human, Kuwabara was still mortal and so was forced to take a taxi in order to keep up, more or less. Then he got into an argument with the taxi driver as he kept giving the man several directional changes. The driver got fed up and told Kuwabara to make up his mind. They were still arguing. Tatsumi could hear them in his state of heightened awareness.

          /Tell the man you're going to pay him a nice fee. / Tatsumi sent out his mind voice to Kazuma. He could sense the boy's rising frustration.

          /I KNOW THAT ALREADY! I TOLD him THAT! /

          /Stop yelling. You're making my head hurt. /

          /Where the hell are the others? /

          /Wait.../

          /WAIT?!/

          He ignored Kazuma's outburst. He stretched out with his senses again. The car was turning and this time it was going to a deserted section of the city. There were no establishments or houses in that area. Just several abandoned buildings and entrances into the city's inner system - drains, sewers and utility tunnels. _Good. Hiei and Yusuke had done their jobs._

          /Alright, tell the man to head south and keep going there. /

          There was a moment of silence as Kuwabara argued with the driver.

          /He's giving me a weird look. /

          /Who cares? Just GO! /

          Tatsumi sensed the taxi with Kuwabara inside move towards the area that he pointed out. He could also sense Kurama hot on Eriol's trail and coming from the eastern side. If all things go well and the Magician didn't throw them another trick from his proverbial hat, they would successfully corner the kid in that section. It seemed that Kurama's plan was working. They were slowly driving Eriol into a corner-eliminating one by one Eriol's avenue of escape as they closed in from 4 directions. They couldn't catch up with the boy so the fox had thought that they might as well try to force Eriol into a certain location by determining where he would go. So far, everything was going according to the strategy.

          But for some reason, Tatsumi couldn't help but feel that maybe all this was still part of Eriol's plan.

          Kurama knew that no matter what would happen tonight he would have to catch Eriol. Tonight. If he failed, he would never have this chance again. Deep down, he knew that the Magician showed himself for him and him only. Eriol had thrown the bait and though Kurama knew it was risky, he took it never the less. He'd followed the boy as soon as Eriol threw him the challenge..._catch me if you can_. 

          _Let's just hope he doesn't have a nasty hook hidden_, Kurama thought morosely though he rather suspected that that was the case. 

          On he ran, leaping over rooftops, finding foot holds on the exterior of skyscrapers and landing lightly without a sound until he was nothing but a silver blur flying across the cityscape. Yusuke left carnage in his wake as he passed by. Kurama left everything as it is with nothing but a slight hint that something was there.

          The Magician had altered Reality to suit his own purpose and Kurama knew that no matter how fast he ran, he would not be able to catch up with the car. Twice he came closed and twice the Porsche got away. 

          He felt the wind tug his hair and whisper to him to run, run...run and catch Eriol if he can. The very spirits in the air sided with the Magician. Sylphs tried to distract him by whispering sweet distractions and all the while, he could sense Eriol's amusement. It was annoying.

          Unexpectedly, a chasm opened up beneath him. A sudden wave of vertigo hit him and he fell. Instinctively, he called out his weapon of choice. The rose seed that he held turned into a whip, fed with his own unique _chi_. He threw the whip up and out. It wound around an outcropping and he felt the sudden tension in his hands as the whip stretch out with his falling weight then snap back in place. 

          The _maboroshi_ shattered and he found himself hanging six stories up from the side of a skyscraper. The glasses that he wore for disguise fell to the streets below. He saw his whip had hooked around a gargoyle statue at the side of the building. Quite a few people inside the building saw a teenage boy hanging in mid-air. Kurama flashed them a smile before swinging out and disappearing, leaving some folks wondering if they had too much to drink and that maybe it was time to go home.

          _Damn Eriol and his tricks!_

          /You used to like them...oh wait...you forgot. / Eriol said bemusedly.

          /Screw you. /

          /My, my. Watch your language dear boy. Is that how a good boy like Minamino speaks? /

          Kurama didn't answer. He was thinking about something else. The car's position and the layout of the street based on the bird's eye view Tatsumi was giving him.

          /Ah...No wonder all the girls go crazy for you. Not only are you quite a sight for sore eyes but you've also nailed the 'good guy with a touch of nasty' persona. / 

          He ignored Eriol. He shifted from Tatsumi's bird's eye view to that of his own and saw the car turn into a narrow deserted street from his position at the top of a nearby building. _If I time it right..._

          Kurama lept off, falling gracefully from the great height...and missed the car by a few inches. The ground on his feet broke up with the force of his impact creating a mini crater on the paved street. He looked up and found himself staring into the Porsche's headlights.

          _Shit._

          He had instinctively tucked his body in on landing to lessen the brunt of his impact so that he now found himself kneeling in front of Eriol's car. He could see the warm air rising from the hood and the soft purr of an engine idling.

          /No Youko. I won't run you over. Where's the fun in that? /

          The car backed off, changed directions and sped away; all with the agility that Kurama knew human engineers didn't factor in while they were drawing up the plans for the car. 

          He stood up and frowned. He had timed it right. Except at the last second, Eriol did something again. Eriol bent a few Rules to work to his advantage. 

          _Matte...he may have bent the Rules, but they are still Rules and so Eriol would also be bound by them...hmmm..._

          He brushed the dirt from his clothes and struggled to regain control with the _youkai_ within. Youko was putting up a fight. He wanted to emerge. From time to time, he nearly let the other take over but pulled Youko back at the last minute. This maybe exactly what the Magician wanted. 

          He wrinkled his nose as he smelled something. _Human. Pheromones. Fear_. He turned around quickly towards the direction. There in the shadows he could make out a man and a woman. They had clearly been interrupted with their business when he 'dropped' in.

          Kurama strode over to the frightened pair. The woman shrank back, pulling her clothes to cover herself. The guy was wide-eyed. Kurama couldn't care less. There was another thing that he wanted from the pair. In his mind, he heard Youko chuckle.

          _(Dear boy are you really going to? You don't have a license.)_ Youko mocked him.

_          Oh shut up, Youko. You're going to help me since you're being so damn smug._

          _(Oh, I can ride that machine. Ningen machines are easy compared to our toys. But can YOU handle it? )_

          "I need to borrow your bike," Kurama said evenly to the man. It was not a request. The man nodded dumbly, still in shock. The woman whimpered. Kurama dimly heard Youko laugh inside his head.

          "Thank you," Kurama said. He took the man's keys, gloves and helmet. After that he tossed towards the pair his wallet. 

          "I have enough in there to cover the repairs for your Ducatti when you will find it tomorrow." He had no doubt on that. The bike was going to get wrecked and Tatsumi had enough funds to spare, thanks to the Ministry of the Dead here. A thought crossed his mind. There was a time when he would just take what he wanted and not ask, damn the consequences.

          _(Really, Shuichi.  All these human guilt trips. It's going to slow us down. ) _

          Kurama screened out Youko's comment and mounted the black and silver Ducatti. Just before he put on the helmet he turned to the almost naked pair, "Use the extra cash to get a room."

          _Sheesh__...men today don't know how to romance women properly._

          _(I agree. If I was that guy…)_

          _I really don't want to know, Youko. Now shut up and help me._

          If his analysis of the situation was right then this might just work. _Mahou_ wasn't working on the Magician and neither was the use of _reiki_ or _youki_. Eriol was manipulating magical lines to suit him but had largely left the other aspects of Reality alone otherwise, even ordinary humans would notice that something was amiss. The car, from what Kurama had seen, still obeyed regular physics - just like everything else non-magical. It was pushing the limits of physics though.

          Following Eriol's logic, he should be able to keep up with the Porsche if he used a vehicle of some sort and not his _youkai_ abilities. 

          The bike gave a satisfying roar when he started it. _Good_. It was in excellent condition. Apparently, lover boy knew more about motorbike TLC then TLC-ing women. He wasn't complaining though. This was one hell of a machine and he could tell that even Youko approved of the Ducatti.

          He pushed off and the machine roared to life. He felt the power beneath him and took off towards where the Porsche disappeared.

          _I really should get one of these for Christmas..._

          /Go around that corner! / Tatsumi's mind voice came clearly and interrupted Kurama's passing thought.

          /Where is he heading, Sei-_san_? / Kurama responded.

          /An abandoned site on the east side of the city. /

          /Yusuke and the others? /

          /They're cutting him off now. /

          Kurama threw the bike into a mean wheelie as he rounded the sharp corner, and then saw the car's taillights ahead of him.

          /Found him. /

          He increased his speed coming ever closer to the car until he came almost side by side by it. Together, car and bike weaved in and out, dancing on the streets like two champion figure skaters. Other vehicles and people rushed to get out of the way and somehow Kurama knew that no matter how fast they were going no innocent bystander was going to get hurt. Eriol had made sure of that in this altered reality. Several times he thought that the car or he would clip a bystander and always they passed by with no harm done.

          _I can see the morning papers' headline now: Ghost Vehicles running the Streets of __London__._

          /WATCH OUT! /

          Kurama jerked back to awareness at Tatsumi's warning. He had not noticed that the car had suddenly made a hard left into a tiny street and that he was now heading straight towards a battered wall in a dead-end alley.

          He pulled hard on his bike, lifting the front wheel up and using the Porsche's fleeing tail end as a springboard to jump the wall. He felt the back wheel clipped the top of the cement wall before the bike buck underneath him. At the last moment, before he and the Ducatti would hit the ground on the other side, he jumped off.

          There was a crash, then the sound of machinery sliding and grinding on hard earth. Sparks flew and the Ducatti smashed onto the side of an abandoned building before exploding. 

          _Damn, Youko. Pay attention will you?_

_          (__Ch.__ If I had full control of this body…)_

          /Kurama! / Yusuke's mind voice came across loudly and interrupted the mental argument Kurama was having with his other self.

          /Are you all right, kid? / That was Tatsumi. Calm as ever.

          /Huh? What'd I miss? / Who else but Kuwabara?

          Kurama lay on the dust, allowing himself to catch his breath. He'd hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of him. He could hear the others calling out to him telepathically, worried if he was hurt badly, though in Hiei's case…

          /Get up fox! /

          /Gee...thanks, Hiei. For your concern. /

          Kurama pulled himself up trying to get his bearings. Despite the situation, he found himself grinning at Hiei's remark. He'd learned to pick up the nuances and hidden sentiments in Hiei's gruff responses.

          _(This is not the time to be amused.)_ Youko chided him.

          _Right. _

          /Where am I Tatsumi? / he asked the _shinigami_ as he took a quick scan of his location.

          /You're in the place that I mentioned about. /

          /Eriol? / Kurama asked the _shinigami__._

          /The car's parked several yards away from you. He seemed to have entered one of the tunnels. /

          /Ok, I'm going then. /

          /No. Wait for the others. /

          /We'll loose him. / Kurama retorted.

          /Let him go. He's old enough to take care of himself. / Hiei butted in.

          /Guys? Where are you now? / 

          /I'll go get Kuwabara before he gets lost again. / Yusuke offered. 

          /Be careful, Kurama. / Tatsumi repeated.

          /Am I Youko or am I YOUKO? /

          /Hn. Isn't that what got you into trouble in the first place? /

          /Yo! Fox! / It was Yusuke. /We'll be there in a few minutes. Don't start the fun without us, you hear? /

          /I hear you Yusuke. /

          He lifted his head and saw the full moon. For a while, he sensed his other self-waiting just beneath the surface. A cold, calm clarity filled his entire being.

          _Let's go hunting, Youko._

          Somewhere in the depths of the city's underground tunnels, a boy holding a huge ornate staff stood in the middle of a magical circle that glowed with strange symbols. Just beyond the magical circle a woman stood. She was looking at him skeptically.

          "Really, Eriol. Is all this necessary?"

          "Now Mizuki, I'm just having fun."

          "How about a simple encounter? A simple hello, nice to meet you kind of encounters."

          "Tsk. So ordinary. Where's the fun in that?"

          "You have a strange concept of fun."

          Two beings stepped up near the edge of the circle. One was a frail looking girl that seemed made of wisp. The other was Eriol's _doppelganger_.

          Eriol turned to the girl, "You know what to do Melody?"

          The girl nodded quietly then disappeared like white smoke.

          Next, Eriol turned to the _doppelganger_ and smiled, "Now go and lead him to us."

          His twin vanished.

          Mizuki shook her head, " I still don't think this is necessary, Eriol. They're all going to see each other in Hogwarts anyway."

          "A stuffy castle is not exactly an ideal place for a first encounter."

          "Akizuki is already here. You felt the need to add more mayhem?"

          He responded with a smile.

          Mizuki sighed and smiled back. _C'est__ la vie._

          "Mizuki-san..."

          "Yes?"

          "They are not exactly ordinary people."

          "Right. Well, I must call it a night. I have an early day tomorrow."

          "Give Dumbledore my regards."

          Kurama looked around helplessly. _Where the hell did that boy slipped off to?_ There were several possible places to hide or escaped in and checking them all out was not practical. He'd followed the scent when the wind suddenly changed and he lost the track. The trail petered out and he found himself standing in the middle of a scrap yard.

          _Dammit__! Where the hell are you?_

          There was movement to the left of him. He turned around quickly. It was a black cat scrounging for scraps. He took a moment to rein in his growing frustration. In the past, he had no trouble at all controlling his feelings because he simply did not experience them the same way humans did. He was always detached from it. However, when he merged with the human boy, he also blurred the lines that divided Youko Kurama from Shuichi Minamino. Sometimes, the emotions he felt as a human were overwhelming if not controlled immediately.

          He took another deep breath as he sensed the other members of the _Rei__ Tantei_ coming. Tatsumi had gotten held back. The _shinigami_ was busy misdirecting the _arawns_ to the location. Tatsumi wanted them to get first crack on Eriol.

          Except Kurama couldn't find Eriol now.

          An empty can rolled near his feet and he glanced up. There on a small dirt hill, stood Eriol. He was smiling again. Kurama felt his annoyance at being toyed with grow stronger. Only a few feet separated them. Without even thinking about it, he launched himself at the boy only to see Eriol standing in another place, another few feet away from him.

          _Fine._ He understood the Rules of the game. No supernatural speed or anything. 

          He took one-step forward. Eriol didn't move. In fact, he seemed please. He made a slight gesture to indicate to Kurama to follow him. The boy had taken down the spell that he cast over the city. As long as Kurama cooperated, there was no need for any spell. If the fox had other ideas like last time, Eriol would retaliate. It was an old Rule. Eye for an Eye. Magic vs. Magic. _Youki__ vs. Reiki_. It was the Rule that everyone in _Makai_ lived with.

          _(We could always take him.)_ Youko suggested.

          _No. Not until we know what we are up against with. He seems to twist the very fabric of Reality itself._

Youko was silent. He, of all the members of the _Rei__ Tantei_, knew the value of prudence. Left with no other alternatives, Kurama followed.

~*~*~*~*~*~

          _"Did you see, Traveler? Did you understand what I have shown to you? No? Oh dear...let me try to explain. All things are connected. All Life is connected. Small things. Big things. All are intertwined and inseparable from the other. Modern life has made you feel that you are separate. You are not. Just as the demon Kurama's fate is bound to that of Reed's descendants so is your fate bound to the events that are happening. _

_          Everything is connected. Everything. Light and Dark. Good and bad. That is what I want you to understand and know. That is why I brought you here. To see what you otherwise could not witness._

_          Here in Tel 'Aran 'Rhiod, the Sleeping Realm, all things are possible. All things happen. Time is of no consequence. I created this world and you created me. I am both greater and lesser than you, gods or demons in that I shape all your sleeping worlds but in turn it is those very sleeping worlds that shaped me and gave me form. This Realm is superior to all the others in that it encompassed them all but it is inferior in that it needs the others to exist. You can only enter if I let you in._

_          Before I brush the sand from your eyes and you wake up to your world I will tell you one last thing. My name is Morpheus. I am the third of my family that was hidden by Mother from Father's wrath. I am the Endless that you call Dream._

_          Now, remember everything and nothing. But do not forget that no matter how your family hates you or how you hate them, you are tied to them by blood. Soon…you will meet your other family. Magick will be your bond. Magick will be your salvation. Magick will be your undoing, T'a'veren…_

_          Now wake up, Harry…"_

**TBC**

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**K.H.: **  It's been Hell Week for me, _minna__._ I just hope that it doesn't turn into Hell Month. That'd suck big time considering that March is my birth month. Early birthday presents, anyone? Surprise parties? 

          Alternatively, you can always use the review button to lift my spirits up or send it crashing down. Doesn't matter. I can't get any lower therefore I can only start to go up, ne? ^_~ Or drop by my blog or the Gripe Vines, or…whatever…

**P.S. **Shaolan is the compromised version of the Japanese name Syaoran and the Chinese name (Mandarin, Hokkien, Fokkien, Cantonese, etc.) Xiao Lang or Shao Lang or Xiao Lan depending on whose sub or dub your watching. ^_^ Many thanks to Shira for pointing this out.

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	15. A Chanced Meeting of Fate

**DISCLAIMER:             …**Surely you jest?

**EDITOR:**                 Shiranai Seito

**BETA-READERS:**      Aya-san and Aeserp

**MAGICAL CONSULTANT:**     Darkangel Hime

**Support Group:**                 **_The_****_ Otaku Council_** in the yahoo group **_The Gripe Vines_**

**Responsible for all that Citrusy Flavor:**  Aya-san ^_~ Yes. Her! 

**Responsible for the Hunters of En-Ma:**   Kelly-san! 

**Review Replies:        **Please check out my **_Fanfic_** **_Writer's Corner_** blog in **E-bloggy.com**. The link is in my bio. This chapter is _veerrry_ long (16 pages O_o) so I placed the replies there. _Gomen_. 

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**WORD WATCH:**

**Danse**** Macabre** – A play on the words 'macabre dance'. This is intentional on my part since it captures the mood a lot better than the original.

**Musaboru**– Japanese term that means to lust after insatiably, covet, or crave.

**Prana** – Hindi term for life force

**Hikareau** –Comes from "hikareru," which means "to be charmed by, lured by, attracted by."   There is also a bit of a pun in this line.   The first kanji used in the word "hikareau" isn't the proper kanji.   It is replaced with the kanji that should be read "mi" (from "miryoku" (charm/attractiveness)), which means to lure, charm, or attract. The substitution of this kanji gives the sense of a more magical/other-worldly draw. **(from Miyuki-san in Animelyrics.com)**

**Menage**** a trios **– A threesome. 

**Kekkai** – Shield, barrier or an enclosed territory.

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**READING NOTES (Darn FF.net for not allowing us to use different fonts .):**

_'Text' _–notes

_Text _– thoughts only

_"Text" _- Voices in your head (reader or character). 

/Text/ - telepathy

_(Text)_ - Talking or arguing with your self.

**~\\Text\\~** - song lyrics

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**WARNINGS:**   Citrus content and yes, suggestive lyrics from **_Britney Spears's_** two songs in her **_In the Zone_** album.  O_O Citrus means things get a little sexier than some of you might like but nothing explicit.

Yes, there are underground rave parties held in storm drains and utility tunnels. Yes, they are called the Cave Clan or something similar. No, I haven't been in one so I just hyped up what I knew from Readers Digest.

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**                                                                        Chapter 14:   Meguri Aeta Kotto no Unmei**

**                                                                                        A Chanced Meeting of Fate**

          Hiei stopped short in the middle of the deserted lot where Tatsumi said Kurama was. He looked around. The others had not yet arrived. His dark brows furrowed in concern. Something was not right with the place. Even the very wind seemed wrong. 

          /Kurama...where are you? /

          There was no answer from the fox. The moon continued to bathe the place with its light, giving it an otherworldly feel. Hiei looked around again, this time stretching out with his _Jagan's_ sense. His eyes suddenly widened as he realized what was wrong.

          He was not sensing the fox. Anywhere.

          Worse, he was not sensing anyone else outside the area. Not Tatsumi. Not Yusuke. And certainly not the baka, Kuwabara. Nothing. 

          _What the fuck?_

          He was cut off from the rest of the world. It looked like someone dropped the magical equivalent of a box on the area and isolated it from the rest. From the shadows, he could hear movement. Unable to use his _Jagan_, all he could do was fall back on his instincts, instincts that had allowed him to survive in _Makai_.

          Something or someone did not want him to reach the fox.

          /He must not meet the Magician. / Something hissed in the shadows.

          /No. That he must not. /

          /No. /

          / The fox must not meet the Magician. /

          /Yes. /

          /Yesss.../

          The ghostly voices babbled on until it was no more than gibberish. Hiei felt cold all of a sudden. These were the vaunted Hunters-the Hunters of En-ma. A group feared in all the Realms and held in high regard by En-ma. 

          _What_ _the hell__ where En-ma's hunters doing here?_

          "Why shouldn't Kurama meet the Magician?" Hiei addressed the wraiths. He could now see a few of them. They looked like ghosts of ancient samurai warriors. Some seemed solid then suddenly blew away. Some looked no more than smoke. They were forbidden to take a physical solid form unless En-ma gave them permission. And En-ma's permission usually means that someone was going to be hunted down. 

          /No. Must not...but.../

          /We were ordered too.../

          /Youko must not meet the Magician.../

          /But we must not interfere...no... /

          Hiei smirked at the Hunter's conflict of interests. They were obviously not here on official capacity as evidence in their wraith-like appearances and confused state.

          "Take down the shield or else."

          / The fire demon challenges us. /

          /Impudent. /

          /Fool. /

          "You are the fools," he started to unwrapped his bandaged right hand. With the diadem on, he did not need the ward. It was more of a habit than a necessity now. Around him, dozens of wispy forms circle him warily. The Darkness Flame was one of the few things that could hurt the immortal and formidable Hunters. He didn't want to use it so soon but the Hunters were not something to take lightly.

          / He seeks to use the Darkness Flame on us. /

          "I don't like repeating myself."

          / We are En-ma's hunters! / The voice seemed to thunder, indignant that someone would dare challenge them.

          "Right… And from what I see, I think you've just disobeyed En-ma's direct orders."

          His remark was greeted with sullen silence. There was obviously dissension among ranks, even in _Reikai_.

          _What in Makai's name is going on?_

          He'd known that the weakening of the Commandments was big, but the way everyone in the Upper Levels were acting, he got the impression that this was beyond the Commandments. There was something else. 

          Hiei sensed the cloaking drop. Immediately his senses were flooded by sensations and impressions. He could now sense everyone again. 

          / If he meets the Magician, he will awaken Them. /

          / And then.../

          /They should not meet.../

          /But we must not interfere.../

          Hiei left the Hunters still arguing with themselves and made his way to where he sensed Kurama was. Something in the way the Hunters said Them disconcerted him. _Was it fear or was it awe?_

          _You'd__ better find your answers fast, fox because this 'Them' worries me._

~*~*~*~*~*~

          Kurama followed Eriol. The boy was always just out of reach to him. The Magician had led him into a maze of tunnels deep into the heart of the city. This particular tunnel was somewhat dry and relatively clean. A dank musky smell permeated the space and a few electric lights situated at intersection points provided what little illumination there could be had.

          They had not spoken to each other. Just when he thought that he'd lost the boy again, Eriol would appear at the next junction and beckon to him. If Eriol hoped that he would be hopelessly lost, the Magician was wrong. Kurama had left a plant trail - a creeping vine from one of the many seeds he kept in his hair. Hiei would find it and lead the others to his location.

          The air suddenly freshened and he could smell other people. That means they were nearing an exit. Eriol suddenly disappeared into another divide. Kurama broke into a run to follow and skidded to a halt, his senses reeling at the shock.

          _What the?_

          The tunnel junction opened up into a huge cavern where other tunnels from several levels met. Some of the tunnels were storm drains and yesterday's run off was still flowing, looking very much like waterfalls. Others were relatively dry. In the center was a deep pool, which he knew leads to the city's water treatment plants. Yesterday's storm had been so hard that the pool overflowed slightly. Separating the pool was a metal railing so that no one would fall in accidentally.

          But that wasn't got his attention.

          What got his attention were the lights strung up the high ceiling. They were flashing and blinking in a myriad of neon colors that never quite illuminated the space but nevertheless gave it a trance-like quality. To top it all, people were packed in, dancing to a heady hypnotic and pounding song mixed by a DJ situated in one of the empty tunnels.

          People danced, cavorted and grinded with the music. All were drenched by rainwater that they'd kick up from the flooded floor. A few folks had commandeered some of the empty tunnels on the upper walls and held their party there. All nooks, crannies and niches were occupied by either 'occupied' folks or the Rest Stops where hungry and thirsty party people could get a respite from the madness. It was a scene of utter decadence and Youko was drawn to the whole sensual atmosphere that permeated the scene. There was feral abandon in the people celebrating. It was as if being underground freed them all from the constraints of the world above. 

          _An underground rave party?_

          "CAVE CLANNERS!"

          The crowd roared at the DJ's encouragement and Kurama felt himself swept up by the emotion. It took him a moment or two to recover. 

          _No. I shouldn't be distracted. Where's Eriol?_

          He wheeled around looking for the boy. The lights and the moving crowd disoriented him. And the music, it was filling his head...calling to him, telling him to succumb to its spell.

          He finally saw Eriol. The Magician was standing right in the middle of the madness, a serene smile on his face. All around Eriol, people danced as if not realizing that someone was in their midst.

          / No more games, Eriol. /

          /Then come to me, Kitsune. /

          Kurama pushed past the crowd all the while keeping an eye on Eriol. A few dazed revelers tried to grab him and force him into their _danse__ macabre_ but he pulled away. Judging from their suddenly sober expressions Kurama knew that he had not bothered to hide his _youkai_strength as he pushed them aside. His only goal now was to get to the Magician.

          Still the music pounded in his head like a siren's song.

          An amorous couple dancing blocked his path and his view of Eriol. Kurama's eyes narrowed. He was not happy.

          "Hey! What's your problem, pal?!"

          Kurama ignored him and sidestepped the man.

          "Hey kid! I'm talking to you!"

          Eriol was gone. Kurama look around again. There was a flash of black from his peripheral vision. He turned around quickly and saw no Eriol. Behind him, the man seemed to be looking for a fight. Kurama turned to the man and said in his coldest voice, "I am not in the mood tonight."

          Something in Kurama's eyes set warning bells off in the guy's head. He scampered off making up a totally lame face-saving excuse to his girl.

          Quelling his fury, Kurama again turned to look around at the place where he last saw Eriol. This time the pounding beat of the music was replaced with a slower sensuous beat that seemed to tease him, invite him to jump in and let go of his inhibitions. It pulled at his very senses.

**_~\\ I'm not ashamed of the things that I dream. I found my self-flirting with the verge of obscene. Into the unknown, I will be bold. I'm going to the places I can be out of control \\~_**

          He couldn't find Eriol but his eyes kept getting drawn to a single dancer on the floor. He'd glimpsed her when he was pushing his way towards Eriol. Kurama forced himself to look away and tried to find Eriol again but always his gaze returned to her.

**_~\\ I don't want to explain tonight all the things I tried to hide. I shut myself off from the world so I can draw the blinds and I'll teach myself to fly. \\~_**

          She wasn't extraordinarily beautiful he decided. Nothing of the sort. He'd seen others more to his Youko taste when he first entered here. Not that he ever acted on his impulses when he became human. He'd always channeled that part of his energy into more useful things – like outwitting opponents, breezing through academics, school's extra-curricular activities or even gardening…

          _(Well then, why are you looking at her?)_

_          And you're not, Youko?_

          His other self was silent. He watched her trying to figure out her magic. A few men eyed the girl hungrily but she ignored them, lost in her own world. 

          _There was something...something...about her..._

**_~\\ I love myself it's not a sin. I can't control what's happening. \\~_**

          And then he realized what set her apart from the other women in the room. She'd shut herself off. She did not care about the crowd or partners or anything at all. It was just her, the music and...

**_~\\ 'Cuz I jus discovered, Imagination's taken over. Another day without a lover. The more I come to understand the touch of my hand. \\~_**

          ...and an invisible lover. She was dancing with an invisible lover - someone that only existed in her mind. 

**_~\\ The small of my back, the arch of my feet. Lately I've been noticing the beautiful me.\\~_**

          The atmosphere around her sacrosanct space was inviolable. No one could dare approach lest they frighten this elegant creature away. A sweet sad mood seemed to surround her. _My love is far away_, she seemed to say. _But__ I want him here, with me because I miss him terribly._ She moved as one with the music, long black hair falling in untamed waves down her back. Drenched in rainwater, her damp dress clung to her body outlining every sinful curve and hollow and riding up with each erotic entrancing move in tune with the exotic banging bass, revealing more of her thighs with each beat.

**_~\\ I'm all in my skin and I'm not going to wait. I'm into myself in a most precious way. \\~_**

          Kurama found himself drawn to this siren. She wasn't calling out to anyone, much less to him, but the simple fact that she was not interested in any of them made her irresistible to all. Such was the irony of the male psyche and the Youko in him was no exception. He had always liked a challenge and in his glory days in Makai, he'd prided himself for getting anything and everything he wanted. Everything.

          _Enough.__ I should find Eriol!   _

**_~\\ And I don't want to explain tonight all the things I tried to hide. I shut myself off from the world so I can draw the blinds. And I'll teach myself to fly. \\~_**

          He turned around to find his prey until a shift in the _chi_ made him turn back to the girl.

_          Huh?_

          The girl's _chi_ changed subtly. He sensed it. Now that he noticed it, he realized it was different from the other people's life energy. It was stronger than normal but it was also subdued like something was holding it back.

          _A power control device?___

**_~\\ 'Cuz I jus discovered, Imagination's taken over. Another day without a lover. The more I come to understand the touch of my hand. \\~_**

          Kurama watched her carefully. He couldn't see anything visible on her that could be a possible device and he found himself looking at something else.

          _(Very nice.)___

_          Look for a control device and not at her body, Youko!_

          Her energy was now like a gentle rolling soothing wave, barely detectible to anyone except those with the most sensitive senses. Before it changed, he could barely tell her _chi_ from everyone else's. 

          She was human, that much he could tell. _Was she part of Eriol's diversion?_

**_~\\ 'Cause there's a world undefined in my body and mind. I won't be left behind. I'm already here. \\~_**

          It didn't help that the music was filling his head, whispering to him, seducing him. It didn't help that right ahead of him was a mysterious girl who seemed to awake a fleeting awareness of something forgotten.

          _Who are you? _

          He didn't expect her to answer. It was more of a question to him then to her. Her _chi_ was getting stronger now, intensifying the seductive atmosphere that she had unknowingly created around her. Kurama could sense several men getting bolder and for reasons he could not understand he was furious at them. They would not know how to handle a precious thing.

          He stopped short at his thought, surprised at his own reaction. He was acting the very same way when he saw a priceless object and then people did not know how to properly value it.

**_~\\ 'Cuz I jus discovered, Imagination's taken over. Another day without a lover. The more I come to understand the touch of my hand. \\~_**

          _(You will let them sully her?)_

          He blinked in surprise. There was something pure and innocent in her and he hated the men around her who had other thoughts in mind. Thoughts that ironically, he knew he also harbored.

          _What is this? Musaboru?_

          He focused on her again, this time closing his eyes and reaching out with his senses, seeing her _prana_against the backdrop of everyone else's energy. 

          _Like the sun..._

          His eyes opened at the faint memory that the phrase called out. No, not _musaboru__.__ Hikareau_. _Once upon a time, someone in his past made him feel that way too...only...only..._

          He quickly ran to a list of people that he'd met in all the three Realms and came up blank.

          /You want answers, fox? Ask her. / came Eriol's amused mind voice.

          /You planned this all along, Magician. / Kurama replied while looking around for Eriol. 

          There was no answer. The Magician had disappeared again.

**_~\\ 'Cuz I jus discovered, Imagination's taken over. Another day without a lover. The more I come to understand the touch of my hand. \\~ _**

          Kurama looked at the innocent seductress again. She was not aware of anything beyond her invisible sphere. Not aware of the effect she had on men. He could sense the low buzz of her life energy that told him this one too had _magick_ although it was subdued. If Eriol thought that this girl could stop him, the Magician was wrong. He, Kurama, was not about to be frightened off with a mere _ningen_girl.

**_~\\ 'Cuz I jus discovered, Imagination's taken over. Another day without a lover. The more I come to understand the touch of my hand. \\~ _**

          He moved forward and entered her sphere of influence. It was too late to turn back. It would also be something that he suspected he might regret later.

**_~\\ It's so hot in here. \\~_**

          Miriya surrendered herself to the music. It was the only time when she could let down her guard. All the time, she had to rein in her _chi_ so that no one would know. So that She would not awaken. She sensed Her sleeping inside her, the Queen. She feared the Queen because she had an idea of how strong She was.

          Eriol had told her not to fear Her. That the Queen had saved her when she was a child from Death Eaters and the wizard, Voldemort.

          _But__ She didn't save mother and father…_

          She didn't like Her. She didn't like the fact that the Queen would sometimes take over when She stirred and that she would fight Her back to put Her to sleep. And then, and then she would be sick again.

          _Magick_made her sick. _Magick_was killing her. Using small _magick_did not hurt her. Using high-level _magick_hurt her. But sometimes if she didn't let it out once in a while, the force would build up inside her and make it unbearably painful. 

          Just like Clow Reed's sister, but she didn't know that.

**_~\\ Oh, it's so hot, and I need some air. \\~_**

          Music was one of the few ways that she could channel her _magick_ safely, the other being surrounded by family who could help her tame the wild uncontrollable _magick_ that would sometimes flare up, if she forgot her control. Lost in a song and dance she could dip into her psyche and not fear the Queen because she knew the Queen would not hear her. A warm glow would fill her being and for a while, she was a different person, filled with light.

          But it only reminded her of him. Her fiancé- the only one outside her family that would be able to ease the pain of _magick__._

          When Cray would smile, she would forget all her troubles. He'd tried to hide the fact that he was a member of the Great Houses for fear that she might not understand. She'd tried to hide the fact that she knew all about it for fear that it might drive him away. It was funny. She'd fled when she first noticed something strange in his actions. He was after all, 4 years older than her and his family didn't like her. But he was patient, kind and caring...and she knew that he loved her.

          Then he went away to try and save her from her curse. The Families said he was dead. But they were wrong. She'd know if he died. She'd know.

          And so she closed her eyes and mind and withdrew to an inner world where she could be with him. A world where he stood in front of her, a smile on his face and his arms held out to her in welcome.

          Unknown to her, her power blazed on, catching anyone within her sphere of influence and drawing them into her world.

**_~\\ And oh boy, don't stop 'cuz I'm halfway there. It's not complicated, it's just syncopated, we can read each other's minds. \\~_**

          Kurama reeled at the sensations that threatened to overwhelm his senses. The music became like a living creature, calling to him, enveloping him and telling him to surrender to it. His mind swam with scenes that the music evoke- sensuous scenes, wicked scenes. He found his own body responding to the visions and he forced himself to empty his mind.

          It was no use. This was not a simple _maboroshi_. If he tried to escape the music, his eyes would wander over the sinuous lines of the girl's body as she moved to the beat. Her eyes were close but her mouth was open as if waiting for a lover's kiss and he had to fight the urge to plant his own lips on that open invitation.

          A _ménage a trois_. Him. Her. And always the music in the background like an intangible partner but no less real, bringing this strange girl closer to him. _Or__ was it the other way around?_

**_~\\ One love united, two bodies synchronizing. Don't even need to touch me, Baby, just... \\~_**

          The heat and smell of the people around him awakened forgotten desires. _How long was it since he...?_ He'd never really thought about that when he became a human. The women seemed so frail to him. He'd always protected the females that he'd come to regard as family and saw everyone else as mothers, sisters or daughters to someone else. Never mind if some of them would practically throw themselves at him. He'd stop thinking of them as objects of desire, playthings or low class creatures when his human mother hurt herself trying to protect him from the falling dishes that his small clumsy human hands had disturbed when he was small. 

          Only a few demons understood his change of perspective. Yomi, because he too had a son and understood filial love. Mokuro-because she was a woman. En-ki, because of his wife and of course, Yusuke's ancestor-Raizen. He'd never actually met the man but the Toushin had stopped eating humans because of a _ningen_ maiden.

          He found himself moving in tandem to the dancing girl, unconsciously mirroring her movements. He inhaled her sweet scent and rediscovered the other side of women. 

**_~\\ Breathe on me. Baby just, breathe on me. We don't need to touch, just breathe... \\~_**

          He found himself staring into deep dark eyes but the eyes did not see him at all. She seemed to look past him and he knew that she was seeing someone else, someone that only existed in her mind. She tilted her head back exposing the soft pale skin at the crook of her neck as if inviting him closer. Instinctively he responded, letting his breath warm her cold skin as he lowered his head towards her neck. He felt her shudder slightly before she turned her back to him and pretended to lean on him.

          She ran her hands to her hair, a gesture that he found erotic as she closed her eyes and acted like she was feeling his hands on her when they were not even touching. Her hair brushed against his wet clothes. The flooded floor had soaked him but he didn't feel the cold.

          The room swam out of focus. He could sense other people answering the call of the wild but they were nothing but background noise. There was only this girl in front of him.

**_~\\ Oh, this is way beyond the physical. Tonight, my senses don't make sense at all. \\~_**

          He caught the mental images that danced in her mind. He didn't mean to spy but he couldn't help himself. Like Eriol, the woman could weave her own versions of reality. Here, Imagination could take form. He sensed her deep longing for her lover and her desire for the man.  It mingled with his own desire until the two could no longer be distinguished from the other.

          He found himself responding, taking the place of her lover. He could feel his sense of identity slipping away until he was no longer Shuichi, no longer Kurama. Youko did not even resist.

**_~\\ Our imagination, takin' us to places we have never been before. Take me in, let it out. Don't even need to touch me, baby, just... \\~_**

          A part of him conceded that this was a parody of the sexual act. But couldn't it be said too that most forms of dancing with a partner was a way to express in acceptable, public, and vertical fashion what is essentially a private and horizontal activity?

          _Why do I even bother to reason my own actions and feelings when it is too late?_

**_~\\ Breathe on me. Baby just, breathe on me. We don't need to touch, just breathe (breathe) on (on) me (me). Baby just, breathe (breathe) on (on) me (me). We don't need to touch, just breathe... \\~_**

          _Oh, this is madness!_ He was so close to her. All he had to do was reach out and touch her but for some inexplicable reason he found himself holding back. He could feel the warm breeze of her breath on his ears as their bodies move in and out without touching. 

          _Torturous bliss…_

          He'd use a similar technique when he was still Youko. Back then, he would tease his prey over and over, bringing them closer and closer to ecstasy or pain then drawing back at the last minute until his prey would beg him to release them.

          _So__ this is what it's like to be on the receiving end..._

          His own body was on fire despite the fact that the water they were dancing on was freezing. It surprised him that someone could evoke such strong feelings from him. Even as a _ningen_ child, his classmates had always accused him of being cold.

          The fabric of her dress brushed against him and he stopped fighting temptation.

**_~\\ Monogamy is the way to go. Just put your lips together... and blow. \\~_**

          _Cray._

          His name was but a memory to her and yet it brought out all her longing for him. He was not dead. He was here, with her. The Families were wrong. He was alive. She was right. She could feel his warm presence around her. Comforting. Protecting. Reassuring her that everything will be all right now because he was here.

          With him, even She was silent. With him, she could be herself. 

          "Oh Cray..."

**_~\\ Breathe on me, Baby just, breathe_****_ on me. We don't need to touch, just breathe (breathe) on (on) me (me). \\~_**

          She whispered a name that he knew was not his. Her breath was like a gentle warm caress on his skin and Eriol was forgotten. Everything was forgotten. There was only her. His senses were filled with her presence, her nearness, her scent. Their bodies were so close to one another that he could hear their hearts beat in sync with each other and the hypnotic music, so close that each breath is shared in every other thump. She was heady, intoxicating. Their _chi_ met and merged then separated again in an endless cycle that was at times new and at times familiar. He wanted her. Wanted her so badly it was driving him insane and yet still he could not bring himself to touch her for fear that this beautiful creature would flee from his touch.

          _Mistake...mistake..._

          Yes, it was a mistake...it was not her fault. It was his. She did not even know he was there. To her, he was her phantom lover.  Arrogant of him to step into her realm unprepared. Arrogant of him to have underestimated her power and foolish to have forgotten that though his spirit was old he was still in a teenager's body. Foolish to have not realized that though he was not really Shuichi Minamino, he was also no longer the Youko Kurama of old. _Damn the music.__ Damn Youko and the stupid full moon. Damn Eriol and the games he played. Damn her dark eyes. Damn everything. _

          _Gods but I want her so badly..._

          He was so close now that he could feel the warmth of her skin. If he could just reach out and touch her...

          He let out a sound that was a half moan and a gasp of frustration as Desire won over Discipline. 

**_~\\ Baby just, breathe (breathe) on (on) me (me). We don't need to touch just...\\~_**

          A warm arm circled her waist and pulled her down to the flooded dance floor. She yielded and lifted her head to meet her lover's kiss, her eyes closed in anticipation. Her fingers tangled in his hair and drew his head towards her as she felt his warm hard body on hers. How'd she longed for the feel of his lips on her again after so long...

          Kurama felt her surrender underneath him as he gently brought her down to the floor with him. A soft sigh escaped her lips as her back curved at his touch, straining to meet his. She was so soft, so warm to the touch. He lowered his head to taste her lips, all the while fighting a loosing battle against the incredible urge to rip her clothes to shreds and have her right then and there on the floor. He crushed her mouth with a feral kiss and was a little surprise when she responded with equal fervor.  He tightened his hold on her and…

          / GET AWAY FROM HER!/

          The illusion was broken. She blinked and saw golden eyes staring back at her that reminded her of the metallic sheen of an insect's wings so different from Cray's clear blue ones. Instantly, she recoiled from the stranger's embrace and both of them stared at each other in shock. Anger and confusion waged war inside her. The same look was mirrored on his face. The flickering light showed to her his dark red hair and a strange thought came to her mind.

          _So much like blood..._

          Her heart jumped to her throat. In that brief moment they touched she sensed a much older spirit inside him. A being so ancient its power seemed to come from the very earth itself. It frightened her because she recognized that life force-it was the same life force that haunted her dreams, calling to her and she knew that if she answered it then that Woman would awake and she would loose herself and...  

          _And__ Chaos would reign supreme if She awakes..._

          Akizuki's voice came again warning her that this boy was after Eriol. Vaguely Miriya could sense the other guardians make their frantic way towards her.                 

          Anger won out from confusion. _How dare he pretend to be Cray?! How dare he attempt to get close to me to get Eriol?!_

          Kurama sensed her _reiki_coalescebefore it hit him. It was like a deadly viper striking and the impact threw him backwards. He'd managed to avoid most of the force but it was still enough to smash him to the adjoining wall. Strangely enough, it did not upset him. He'd deceived her and he deserved her anger. Once it was an alien thought and feeling to him. But after living so long as a human he was amazed that he even understood.

          Through the haze of pain he saw the entire party come to a sudden abrupt stop as people tried to get their bearings on the situation. And then the other _Rei__ Tantei_ members made their appearance having found him and the source of the sudden energy outburst.

          _Oh no..._

          Quick as lightning, Hiei drew his _katana_ and struck. Kurama dimly saw the girl's dark eyes turn to the color of a brilliant amethyst as she looked up to her attacker on air. He also saw the renewed gathering of her _chi_ and the strength of it floored him. He didn't expect it to be that strong.__

_          S? She was a class S?_

          He saw the slight hesitation in Hiei as the other demon realized that he was facing a human with a class S power level. Nevertheless, Hiei brought down his sword fast and hard and crashed into a _kekkai_that the girl had put up.

          The girl's expression had changed. Her face had gone utterly calm and expressionless and when she spoke her voice had the low even tone of a queen.

          "Away from me, demon."

          Hiei flew backwards as the _kekkai_ pushed him out violently. This time, all hell broke loose and people started to scream and panic. A stampede for the exit ensued.

          Kurama picked himself up, the rose whip in his hand. Pushing aside the people blocking his way he made for the girl. _No surprises this time._

          A few feet away he stopped in disbelief. The girl was swaying on her feet. The unholy light that glowed in her eyes was gone and she looked sick. She had dropped to her knees.

          "REI GUN!"

          Kurama watch in horror as the huge blast of _reiki_ made its way to the now defenseless girl. His own body move in its own accord to try to protect her but he was too far away. _Not again.__ Not again. Not AGAIN!_ The thought ran in his mind over and over and he did not know the reason why.

          _I WILL NOT LOSE HER AGAIN!_

          The balled up _chi_ found its mark and lit up the tunnel. There was a deafening blast and the upper chambers crumbled. Kurama felt a mournful wail rise up from his throat then immediately clamped it down as he saw the tableau before him. Relief overwhelmed him. Again he did not know the reason why.

          When the dust and smoke cleared he saw another girl was standing in front of the fallen girl. The young man behind her cradled the unconscious girl in his arms. The second girl was responsible for the new _kekkai_that had deflected Yusuke's _rei__ gun_. 

          " I will not let you touch the Lady Miriya." the second girl spoke firmly. There was steel in her voice.

          Yusuke's face lit up as he realized that he was facing a strong opponent. "Heh! Fine then! I'll just have to go through you first!" He moved forward and cracked his knuckles. " Just because you're a girl doesn't mean I'll take it easy on you. And besides, your lady hurt my friends."

          Yusuke raised his fist and slammed it to the ground. The resulting energy wave ripped up the earth. Hiei took advantage of the flying debris and made for the other man.

          A cold blue light shimmered and their attack bounced off harmlessly. Kuwabara now rushed in with his _reiken_. The man stood up and Kurama saw the man's eyes flash before Kuwabara crashed to the wall knocking him out of the running. He was buried under the stampeding mob.

          Kurama directed his attention back to the man. He was weak looking but there was something cold in eyes. He held the girl called Miriya in his arms almost lovingly. His caring gesture contrasted with the ice blue eyes that glittered like the moon in the dim light. Kurama got the sense that despite the man's looks he was not something to trifle with.

          Out from the corner of Kurama's eyes, he sensed Tatsumi's _kages_ creeping closer to the trio. Finally, it reared up intending fully to trap the three and then froze. 

          The girl with the long dark brown hair laughed, " Is this all you can do?"

          The other boy turned to Tatsumi. "The power of shadows are in our domain," he said cryptically. The shadows warriors disintegrated.

          Everyone suddenly sensed the strange and unidentifiable power of the two lurking just beneath the surface. It was nothing like _reiki_ or _youki__._ It seemed a combination of both.

          "Akizuki, enough." the young man said as the second girl smirked at Yusuke, egging him on.

          "Fine, Yukito_-san_. Our duty as guardians...yeah, yeah. I understand."

          The other man gave them a jester's smile, his glasses twinkling. A cold sensation swept the group and in a blink of an eye, the trio was gone.

          The last of the revelers had left. The only sound was the rumble of collapsing foundation and weakened supports. The group was lost in their thoughts, each analyzing tonight's adventure except Yusuke who was ecstatic at finding new and strong opponents and Kuwabara who had simply been knocked out cold and trampled by the fleeing crowd.

          " I don't like those guardians, " Hiei said simply as Kurama came up to him.

          "Neither do I," Kurama agreed. Things had gone badly tonight leaving him with more questions than answers. It was frustrating. _Who or what were those Guardians? Who or what was that girl? How powerful and dangerous was the House of Reed? And what about the other seven Houses? And boy do I need a cold shower or what? Talk about being left high and dry…_

_          (Not to mention getting your ass kicked.)_

_          Oh poo, Youko! Like you were much help._

_          (Heh! Look who's talking.) _And then in almost contemplative fashion, Youko added, (_ That__ was one hell of a distraction… )_

          Hiei looked at him quizzically, "Your eyes..."

          "What about them?" he snapped. 

          "They're not green," Hiei said, ignoring Kurama's bad mood and the fact that the fox was not his usual disciplined and poised self. "They're Youko's eyes." 

~*~*~*~*~*~

          Deep in one of the dry empty tunnels that had escaped the chaos in the cavern, a man-child waited for his children/servants. There was the sound of light footsteps and two forms emerged from the shadows. Eriol smiled his approval at the two. His _doppelganger _had done a good job in leading the fox in. Eriol then turned to the shy girl standing beside his _doppelganger_, "Well done, Melody."

          The small frail girl blushed.

          "Now my children, return to me."

          The two forms nodded and dissolved into wispy ribbons of light before returning to the Magician's staff.

          "That went well," Eriol said to himself before walking out of there. A grin was on his face.

**TBC**

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**K.H.**You probably know by now that I intentionally misspell magic into magick. This is to differentiate from the Old Practitioners from the regular ones. Why the quick update? Chalk it up to work. I either had to finish this now or you guys wait for it next month while I finish my work duties. The next chapter will probably come in late April or early May because right now, my schedule and to do lists are full and I won't even be able to celebrate my birthday because of it buu hooo TT.TT. _*sigh *_ Never mind. I just hope the quality of this chapter didn't suffer from the haste it was made. 

          R and R minna! ^_^

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	16. Those Cold Blue Eyes

**DISCLAIMER:** If I did own them I'd be living well off on royalty and copyright fees now would I?

**EDITOR:** Shiranai Seito

**BETA-READERS:** Aya-san and Aeserp

**MAGICAL CONSULTANT:** Darkangel Hime

**Support Group:** The Otaku Council in the yahoo group The Gripe Vines

**Review Replies:** Still in my blog I'm afraid. Links are in my bio. This chapter is kinda short.

Yes. I'm alive! Alive! After a loong wait...I updated. So please don't send those bomb and death threats anymore. I've had enough of bombs from where I am...and I've seen enough dead bodies to last me a life time thank you. Writers block. Baaaaadddd writers block. ****And then some_...sigh_

Read and hopefully enjoy. Now excuse me but I must go leave reviews to the authors whose works I also admire. I have a lot of reading; reviewing and catching up to do…ahehehe…

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**WORD WATCH:**

**Aoi**** tsuki** – Blue moon. The Japanese poetic way of saying true love/ first love/ love.

**Dakara/Dakedo** – Therefore…/ So…

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**READING NOTES** **['Cause we can't use different fonts and now the spacing is screwed up ]:**

_'Text'_ – notes

_Text _– thoughts only

_"Text"_ - Voices in your head [reader or character].

/Text/ - telepathy

_(Text)_ - Talking or arguing with your self or another personality inside you

[Text] – English translations to foreign phrases-in this chapter the foreign words are Japanese

- Paragraph breaks [double spaced] Signifies the shift from one scene or act.

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**WARNINGS:** You're reading my fic. I think that's a cause of alarm since that would mean trying to figure out what is going on in my twisted little mind which has a tendency to go on tangents...oooh...yes...I'll have a choco...ahem...I mean...where was I...? **;; **This is unbeta-ed so any mistakes are mine…

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**Chapter 15: Sono Aoku Kooru Hitomi**

**Those Cold Blue Eyes**

****

_  
Nani__ mo nai..._ [Not a thing is here...] _Nani__ mo nai…_

Only Emptiness. Void. No...not void...not emptiness...just Nothing.... Here...in the depths of his own mind... Cray...his human name...but he wasn't human anymore...was he...? No...he made a bargain with a god... to save her... to kill her...

_NO! No...I can never hate her.... my love ... my kindred soul... I have to find another way...she is my...soul... I cannot...cannot kill her..._

(_Unmei__ no ai; umareranai kara musubareita koibito-tachi, sore ha amari ni hoamasu ni iru gensouda... Genjitsu ha musu no guuzen ga owari mashiteiru. Musubareru koto ga areba wakareru koto soaru- sore dake no koto ja nai ka! Dakara, boku hashinjinai... Unmei mo... Ai mo...)_

The voice that spoke in his mind was soft and almost musical, like a small stream that flowed gently over smooth stones. But the soft voice was in direct contrast to the harsh words. Touda...He and Touda were as one and he understood what the god was saying...shared most of the god's knowledge...or was he Touda...? Who was he now...? Where do one end and the other begin...?

[Predestined love; even before birth, two souls are fated to find themselves in each others arms... such a foolish idea, a wasted fantasy. There's no such thing as fate; coincidence, nothing more. There is no way to connect "souls," and anyone who believes such a stupid notion is inferior- these things cannot happen! So, I refuse to believe...in destiny and...in love...]

_You're wrong, Touda. You believe in Destiny. That's why you are here. That's why you saved me. That's...why..._

_(Don't be a fool Cray. Don't let your feelings cloud your judgment. I believe in Destiny not as you define it. Time is meaningless to us Immortals. What you say Destiny is merely the effect of a cause. Fate is nothing more than a series of events that will eventually lead to a certain conclusion. But herein lies the Paradox that is Free will. Dakara...)_

_What happened Touda? What happened to you?_

The god chose not to answer him. Cray continued speaking...pleading...

_Hoshi no inochi __nara__ nagai kedo itsu made mo onaji kono hibi ga kurikaesu wake ja nai. Ashita wa dare ni mo mienai._

[The stars may live for a long time, but that doesn't mean that the same days will repeat over and over forever. No one can see into tomorrow.]

And then as an after thought, he added; _Not_ _even the House of Reed can see all of the Tomorrows._

For a moment there was silence as god and man contemplated on what the other had said. Then Cray spoke again to the god-pleading with him to understand what he was going through...hoping that the god will find or know another way so he won't have to kill her...

_Tooku wo mite'ru sono manazashi wa kokoro no naka no koe wo kiite'ru mada aoi tsuki wo dakishimete _

[The way you gaze at a spot far away means you're listening to the voice of your heart and still holding the blue moon.]

Touda seemed to flinched at Cray's words but was silent.

_Itsuka__ wagamama na utagoe ga kimi ni todoite sonna shunkan ni kono sekai wa kawatte yuku _

[One day, a selfish voice humming a song will reach you. And in that very moment this world is going to change...]

The god was still silent. Cray felt a lump in his throat. Is there no way he can reach out to this one...? He wanted the god to understand...

_Kawaita__ kaze ga fuku machi wa kogoete-iru ikutsu no kisetsu ga sotto oto mo naku sugisatta no darou _

[A dry breeze is blowing. The city is getting cold. I wonder how many seasons have passed without even a sound.]

_Yukikau__ hito wa mina omoi nimotsu seotte tooku ni yureru kagerou no naka ni ashita wo mitsukeru _

[All of the people coming and going bear heavy burdens, searching for tomorrow within the heat haze wavering in the distance.]

_Kono__ te wo koboreochiru suna no you na kanjou ano toki mune ni sasatta kotoba ga fui ni uzuku kedo_

[Feelings like sand falling through my hands...Back then, the words that pierced my heart suddenly started to throb with pain, but...]

Cray felt a renewed sense of hope and determination even though the god was ignoring him. He didn't know why but he couldn't care less.

_Hatenai__ yoru wo kazoe nagara jibun no kakera sagashite-ita ushinau hodo ni kono omoi ga tashika ni natte'ku ima __nara__ kitto aruite yukeru doko made mo _

[I've searched for pieces of myself, counting the endless nights all the while. These feelings are becoming so certain I almost lose myself. Right now, without fail, I will walk forward, however far...]

Silence now. Touda waited patiently until Cray returned to dreamless sleep inside his own mind. He understood the boy's confusion, his pain...his suffering... his...love. A long time ago...he too was forced to take the life of someone he loved...

A flock of doves took off noisily and Touda found himself looking at them as they soared off to the blue sky.

_(Jiyuu ni kaze kitte tori-tachi wa doko e yuku no? Sugoshita jikan no you ni onaji basho ni modorenai.) _

[I wonder where the birds are flying off to, as they freely slice through the wind. One can't return to the same place as it once was in days gone by...]

_It is not that I don't believe in Destiny, Cray...it is that I want to spare you of all that pain... but..._

But nothing was as simple as it was before…and that was the bitter irony.

_...What happened to the days of Innocence?_

He stood up from where he was sitting in the sidewalk cafe. It was time for him to come back and let the Families know that he was alive…and…to do again what he did centuries ago that cost him his freedom.

People nearby turned to look at this striking young man as he made his way out to the streets but something in his eyes made them look away uneasily. Those cold blue eyes did not look like it belonged to a young man at all...

* * *

Harry woke up to intensely streaming sunlight on his room window and a headache that could only be describe as a huge machine pounding gigantic metal and stone pillars to the earth to provide support for the skyscraper that will soon rise up.

He tried to rise up from his bed but his room suddenly decided to reverse its floor and ceiling while the walls decided to do a mean tango. He fell from his bed with a thud that did not do wonders for his headache.

The pain caused him to curl up into a fetal position clutching his head. He bit back a half scream and moan that was threatening to come out of him. And then without warning, the pain subsided to dull throb that had been with him the past few weeks. It was a low even sensation, like a bee incessantly buzzing in his head.

He tried to stand again, this time with much better results. A squawk from Hedgewig made him winced.

"Hedgewig, not too loud, okay girl?" Harry murmured softly as his long fingers moved to open the cage. The white owl cooed to its master in a worried manner and Harry tried to suppress a laugh.

"I'm all right. Now go."

Harry could swear that the bird did not believe him. Nevertheless, the owl squeezed through the new iron bars on his window and into the sun. With one last backward glance to Harry, Hedgewig took off to hunt for the morning.

There are a lot of times that Harry wished that he was free as a bird. That like Hedgewig he could squeezed through the barred window and soar. Except he wasn't a bird and he wasn't light enough to soar the skies. Not him. Not with the people who weighed heavy on his conscience.

He cocked his ear and was relieved to know that the rest of the occupants in the house were still asleep. It was still early morning after all. He could have his peace for a short time. Crossing his room he let himself out quietly and tiptoed his way to the bathroom. The cool water that he splashed on his face seemed to ease his throbbing head. A quick glance at the calendar nearby and he realized that in a few days he would be celebrating his 16th birthday. That would also mean that his behemoth of a cousin would ALSO be celebrating his birthday.

"Uh oh." Harry murmured. Just what he needed. More trouble. Dudley would be impossible on that day. And Aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon? Hate surged from the deepest part of him surprising him. Suddenly, the headache returned full force and he crumpled.

He was in that position when Aunt Petunia found him. Her scream instantly brought Uncle Vernon to her side.

Harry was in a daze. The pain was everything. He couldn't see anymore and the noise that his aunt and uncle were making was only making it worse.

"Shut up..." he pleaded pitifully. Even the simple act of talking was painful.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY BOY?" Uncle Vernon grabbed him and hauled him up to his feet. Harry had added a few inches so he was now practically level with his uncle but he was still pretty much skin and bones.

His uncle was livid. He shook Harry forcefully and the boy's glasses slipped from his nose.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOUR DAMNED FRIENDS SAY BUT YOU WILL NOT TALK LIKE THAT TO ME!"

Rage somewhat dulled the pain. Along with the hate that he was feeling, Harry somehow found the strength to yell back to his uncle, "YOU WILL NOT CALL THEM THAT!" A sob escaped from his throat. Those damned friends that his uncle called were what he considered his only family. He'd be damned if he let this moron get away with that remark.

Uncle Vernon looked like he'd been slapped. All at once he grunted then dropped Harry unceremoniously on the floor. Then he doubled over. Harry scrambled away just in time to avoid being pinned by the man's huge bulk. He didn't understand what was happening.

"Monster!" Aunt Petunia screamed at him. "I knew it! I KNEW IT!" Her voice became shrill as she wrung her hands and came to her husband's aid. "What have you done you…? DEMON!"

Harry blinked, not sure at what just happened. He stared and for some reason, Aunt Petunia seemed to turn into something not quite human in his eyes. _Oh god! I'm still dreaming! This isn't happening!_

Petunia's voice grew more high-pitched by the passing second until Harry clamped both hands to his ears and screamed for her to shut up. Instantly he felt something inside him flex forcefully-like a whip being cracked. The house seemed to jump at its very foundations snapping Harry back to reality. All over the place, glass and china broke to pieces.

There was an eerie silence and he looked around. Dudley was cowering near the door of his room. Uncle Vernon was being held by Aunt Petunia. Both were staring at him with...what...fear?

It was Aunt Petunia who spoke first. Her voice sounded very tired and yet Harry could still feel the disgust in them. "My idiot for a sister had a monster for a child."

A weariness that Harry could not understand came over him and he leaned back against the wall. _Monster...is that what he was...?_

"Then you wouldn't mind if he lives with us for a while?"

Everyone turned to the new voice. Harry felt his eyes grow wide as he stared at the person standing at the foot of the stairs. She was easily the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen. Her skin was as smooth as alabaster and her long red hair was tied back in a braid. A sweet smile was on her face. She didn't seemed concerned at all with the scene that he knew she had witnessed.

"Who are you? And how did you get in?" Petunia snarled.

"We let ourselves in," an old wizened man said behind her.

Harry could feel joy bubbling up inside him, "MOODY!" He scrambled up to his feet only to experience a bad dizzy spell.

The beautiful woman continued, "I know someone who kept being called a monster by her brother." She smiled, seemingly amused at that memory. Then she looked at Harry and somehow he felt warmth and solace in those honey brown eyes. The woman climbed up the stairs and through Harry's mind she seemed like she glided up rather than used the stairs the conventional way.

When she reached out to touch him he flinched and moved away. Somehow the idea of someone so beautiful and pure touching him made him feel ashamed. He was unclean. He was responsible for the deaths of many people. She would only soil herself if she touched him.

"Shh...Harry...it's alright," she said in a soft voice. Cool hands touched his feverish forehead and it was like clear, cool rain pouring over him. He felt so tired. He just wanted to sleep and get away from all the madness.

"Yes...sleep. It's alright...we're here..."

Her soft voice lulled him to sleep. His last thoughts were how warm she was, how she smelled like milk and honey and how everything was going to be all right.

**TBC**

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**K.H.:** If anyone notices…this is a songfic of sorts. My writer's block was so bad I resorted to using an amalgam of song lyrics to create this chapter. It was still tricky to put them all together and have them make sense while adhering to the plot that I had in mind—kind of like a collage or a quilt. Songs are taken from 2 animes: **Gensomaden**** Saiyuki** and **Weiss Kreuz**. I still am not satisfied with this chapter and. I admit that my work is rather rough but I'll refine it when I'm done. My main concern is to get the story out and hopefully get good feedbacks on how to improve my writing. I just hope it doesn't suck as much as I think it is_…sheepish grin._ I am glad that this is a fanfic though so that I can take certain liberties that would have otherwise been frowned on in other literary genres.

Still…I manage to tie up the OCs with YnM. HP with CCS. _Big breath _Now…to start working on the next chapter. Hope I won't take so long… _crosses her fingers _

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	17. Sunday Driving

**DISCLAIMER: **Not mine. Never will be. No we are not going to be discussing if fanfics are legal or not. I have a headache already.

**WARNING:** Slightly beta-ed. Thanks to Grey for pointing me to a site that translates foreign words. That's French, Portuguese, and Italian.

* * *

**K. Hikari: **Yes everyone…it's me. I'm alive. I've updated after more than a year now I was buried in office paper work and bills to pay that I have to claw my way up the paper pile. I'm not particularly thrilled with this chapter but I was squeezing this between office stuff and real life angst and I did say I was going to finish this and I never go back on my word so here you go and hope you enjoy this. I have the next chapter ready after a few weeks. _(crosses her fingers)_ I hope this chapter made sense or else I'm going have to work on it again…

* * *

**Word Watch:**

**_Gehenna_**– Lower levels of Hell according to folklore

**_Muggle_** – Okay to brush up on the Harry Potter lingo-these are folks with no magic.

* * *

**Chapter 16: Sunday Driving**

_"Pourquoi l'enfer vous a manqué!"_

(Why the hell did you miss!)

_"Mim!__ Você deixou-o ir!"_

(Me! You let him go!)

_"Idiots! Sta ottenendo via!"_

(Idiots! He's getting away!)

He ran across in the endless mists, pursued by shadowy figures and their ghostly voices. One minute he was fighting his Deatheater of a cousin...the next he was falling through mists and endless void. He'd heard a soothing voice call out to him but he didn't trust that tone. He kept falling. The voice was joined by others-calling to him, cajoling, asking him to trust them until suddenly there seemed to be a tinge of annoyance in the accents then outright anger and frustration followed by threats at his refusal to heed them. Soon the mists cleared and he found himself on a wasteland.

_What the...?_

A hand burst out of the dusty ground to grab his ankle. He yelped and jumped back, pulling the rest of the body that was attached to the hand. He howled in terror as a skeletal figure grinned back at him and spoke in a voice so hollow and cold...

_"Come down...come down...all are welcome here...all are welcome in Gehennaaaaaaa..."_

_Oh Merlin...!_

Other hands reached out from the dusty ground and the dead started rising up to scramble towards him. In his fright, he kicked the head of the first figure and watches as it rolled off then disintegrated to dust in the wind. He choked and gagged at the grit that blew into his face. It burned his skin.

_"Life...precious..."_

_"Give it...give it..."_

_"...Thirsssss...ty..."_

He screamed as the undead crowded over him.

------------------

"SIRIUS!"

Thud.

_Ow._

Blink.

Blink again.

_Wha...?_

More blinking through blurry eyes.

"Here...," someone said, handing him his glasses. The voice was distinctly feminine and seemed amused at him. He put his glasses on and the room came into focus. He yelped. The owner of the voice had her forehead press to his and the nearness surprised him. He scrambled back blushing furiously when he saw how pretty the girl was.

"_Ano_...his fever has broken!" The girl smiled gleefully reminding him so much of a cat.

Speaking of cat...

"Yeaarrghhh!" Harry found himself pressed painfully back the wall as a huge feline head dropped out of nowhere and examined his face closely.

"Suppi-chan..." Another feminine voice chided softly. The black feline withdrew back and settled on the bed that Harry had fallen off moments ago. _Huge bed…_he might add. _No…enormous might be the right word._

"I was only checking if Akizuki was correct in her assessment," the black cat harrumphed indignantly, tail swishing in the air.

"What!" the first girl got up and glowered at the...Harry blinked again_...talking...black panther...? With...with...butterfly wings...!_

"Are you accusing me of lying you...you...!"

"Aki-chan..." This time Harry turned to the other speaker. More or less the same age as him and the girl called Aki...Aki...something...Man his head was still foggy_...wait a minute..._

"My headache is gone..."

"You sound bewildered," Akizuki grinned at him, forgetting the cat and probably heeding the subtle warning in the other girl's voice.

"Who…who are you...?"

The door opened and Mrs. Weasley, Ron and Hermione rushed in a flurry of robes, apron, and mitts and engulfed him in a warm hug. "Oh...my goodness...Harry...Harry...you had us so worried...," Mrs. Weasley repeated over and over again as she hugged and stroke his head soothingly. Ron was patting his back quite painfully and Hermione was standing right beside the yet unnamed girl and smiling at him widely. His gaze flicked back to the dark haired girl in curiosity. She returned his look with a polite nod and the barest hint of a smile.

"Mrs. Weasley...? Where...am I?"

"We'll leave you both and let him get his bearings," the girl said. A subtle nod on her head indicated for the strange cat and Aki...Aki...oh heck, he'll remember it next time...hopefully; to follow her. They promptly did and in a way that reminded Harry of how teachers seemed to defer to Dumbledore.

"Now...," Ron said with a big grin. "Let's tell you all the awesome things that happened while you were with the muggles!"

----------------

It had taken a while for Harry to get accustomed to the new place or rather castle...or so it seemed to him. He'd been corrected by the strange cat, _"Its manor...not castle...there's a difference." _Right. Sure. Difference. He'd also been warned to stay within its perimeters or leave it accompanied by the girl Akizuki and or the black cat. Hermione was cooped up in the library most of the time with the quiet girl- her name was Miriya-by the way. Sometimes, the beautiful lady who every one calls Ms. Mizuki would join them in the library. Ron on the other hand felt awkward when Akizuki tagged along and they'd tried a few times unsuccessfully to lose their chaperone. Akizuki always found them or got there first. The cat tagged along too when Akizuki wasn't around- but more subtly, only the occasional rustle that let Harry knew he was being followed.

This was all baloney as far as he and Ron were concerned. _I mean...the place was HUGE._ They'd been trying to find the boundaries of the estate to no avail. It seemed even bigger than Hogwarts. What they found both unsettling was that...at first glance...it all seemed so...normal. Well okay...normal as in no magic was involved-unlike Hogwarts and the other curiosities Harry found in the Magical world. Actually, now that he thought about it-2nd, 3rd glances...heck...if it weren't for the strange cat and the fact the Order of the Phoenix had their meetings here once a week-he could swear it was a muggle house.

Except...muggle houses don't have wild cats with butterfly wings and a small orange talking plush toy. Or a 16 year old master with old eyes-talking to an angel in the light of the full moon at one of the turrets. He'd drag Ron out of his bed to point out the angel and the angel was there one minute, gone the next...making them both rubbed their eyes in disbelief. Occasionally he'd catch Eriol...the young master looking at him with a mysterious smile on his face. There were also 2 Asian young men. One had dark hair and eyes and seemed never to smile, though his expression would soften at the sight of Miriya, Mizuki or the other young man-a pale, frail looking man who looked no older than they are. If he recalled the names correctly, the dark haired one was called Touya Kinimoto, the other one was Yukito Tsukishiro...or something…He was bad enough at name recall now he had to twist his tongue around foreign names too.

Hermione had gone on to explain that these people were _onmyoujitsu_-wizards and witches from the East. Their magic was a bit different from that being taught in Hogwarts though how exactly Hermione couldn't explain but instead pointed them out to their books for the coming school year which he and Ron hadn't bothered to touch yet. _I mean hello...school year hasn't started yet._ Mrs. Weasley was running the household happily, with Ms. Mizuki or Miriya helping along or Akizuki if they catch her around. Occasionally, the twins would drop by and try to set up pranks and tricks but somehow the _onmyoujitsus_ could smell it out and avoid the tricks all together. There was one time though that Harry could swear that the stern looking Touya knew there was a trap but knowingly stepped on it anyway. The man ended up slimed all the way to his eyeballs. Yukito was laughing softly while Akizuki was fluttering and flirting with Touya shamelessly in the pretext of trying to clean him up. And yet for some reason, Touya managed to get the rowdy twins to clean up their mess-something that Harry didn't thought possible. But there he was, watching over them with his jaw set and the twins mumbling their apologies while cleaning up. When Harry asked why they didn't try to get away all the twins said was that the man was scary.

On a fine Sunday afternoon, Miriya approached him and asked if he wanted to accompany her outside. Ron was with Hermione so he was all alone that time. Not wanting to be rude and the fact that he'd wanted to go out, he agreed.

"So uh...where are we going?"

"To the city for groceries." Her tone was light and cheery. "We have a lot of people over and some of them have huge appetites."

_No kidding._ Harry thought morosely. _Yukito had the biggest appetite of them all. Wait...or was that the orange plush toy...? _He'd done a double take when he saw that animated toy wolf down a piece of cake more than twice its size. Ron had laughed at his expression.

She smiled when she saw his look. "You okay? It's been 3 days and you're still walking around with a dazed expression on your face."

"Oh...I thought I was doing a good job hiding it," he laughed lamely.

"No worries."

They came to the garage with the collection of cars that had his eyes bugging out the first time he saw them. The twins had tried to cast a spell on one of the cars but for some reason the spell just bounced off. She got behind the wheel of the white Aston Martin convertible. The sheer luxury of the place overwhelmed him and here were these people who acted like it was all perfectly normal.

"Eriol inherited this estate from his ancestors. That and his keen business sense made this place the way it is now," Miriya answered the question that was apparent on his face.

"At 16? Wow."

"He's a genius." She was trying to hide a grin as if there was something she knew that she didn't want him to know…yet.

"He's creepy." The minute the words escaped his mouth, Harry wished he hadn't said that. They were pulling out of the garage and into the drive way. "Oh shoot...Miriya...I didn't mean..."

"No...relax. It's okay."

Silence.

"Miriya...uhm...I didn't..."

"Harry..."

They both spoke at the same time. They shot each other a quick glance before laughter broke the ice.

"Oh geeze..." he scratched his head, embarrassed.

"No problem. Let's just start all over again. My name is Miriya Hiirigazawa and you are?" She joked as the car made its way towards the iron gates which marked not the boundary of the estate yet but merely the house grounds...no...correction..._manor._

"Miriya, I'm Harry...nice to meet you."

"I'd shake your hand but they're occupied now."

"I can always magic the car to drive itself."

"No thank you. You're not up to that level yet." she teased.

"Ouch. Hermione has been telling you things again?"

"Oh yes. I have to know who my classmates are and what to expect."

"I hope she told you about Neville Longbottom."

"Yup. Mental note, protection shield just in case..."

Harry laughed. He found it surprisingly easily to talk to her once he got over her...rather...formal air to say the least.

"Feeling better now Harry?"

"Much. Thanks. I'm sorry about the comment about your cousin though...but...he does creep me out...or was that waaaay too candid?"

Laughter. The wind was picking up as they sped up, leaving the gates and into the country road.

"What do you expect? He's living by himself for most of his life with only Akizuki and Suppi for companions. That's enough to drive anyone a bit loony."

"Suppi..? Oh you mean Spinel Sun..?"

"Yeah. Besides, Eriol's also a 50 plus year old gentleman trapped in a 16 year old body."

For a minute, Harry wasn't sure if he heard correctly, "You're...joking...right...?"

"Nope."

Silence except for the even hum of the car as they leisurely drove in the English country side.

"What...do...you...mean by that?"

"I meant exactly what I said, Harry."

"How...?"

"Magic."

"He wants to be young forever?" He could hear the disbelief in his voice. He'd know magicians have notoriously long life spans compared to normal people but eternal youth?

"Actually he wants to grow old like the rest of us but at that time he can't."

"Wait...back up... I'm confused..."

"Our...kind of magic works a bit differently from the West...there are similarities but there are also differences. One of the side effects caused him to remain in the form of a 10 year old for years till he found a way to break free from it."

"Ten?" He could imagine his bug-eyed look at that which he was sure matched his squeaky voice just now.

"He's been aging normally now for the last 6 years so he looks 16."

"But in reality he's older? Wait...what about you? Are you very old too?"

Laughter again. "Goodness...no. Turning 16 this year. Yukito and I have the same birthday. And just in case you are curious...we're all aging normally...only Eriol is off by a few decades or so..." _Well…normal depends on what you are really…but then again…no sense saying that for now, _she thought to herself.

"Those...happen often?"

"Nope. He's the only extreme case so far." _Unless you throw in demons, elementals, etc not to mention immortals…_except she didn't add that part. No use distressing him with more facts. Lucky really. Magic users…but shielded mostly from the reality of what it meant to wield magic. _But not for long if the Commandments fell apart…_

"Whoa." He was thinking. " So uhm...what's the deal with this not wandering out of the estate and always being accompanied by either Akizuki or Spinel...?"

"Hmm..? That? Oh. Simple. We don't want your head exploding."

Blinks.

"Say what again, Miriya?"

"We don't want your head to explode, Harry."

"Okay I know the headaches were bad but isn't that a tad extreme?"

"You still have those headaches ever since you got brought to the house?"

"Uhm...no...not anymore." Truth to tell, all he could remember then was passing out in the arms of Ms. Mizuki while in his Aunt's house then waking up later in his new room. Later on the headaches sort of slipped his mind while trying to get use to the place and the new people.

"Well there you go."

"Are you saying Akizuki or Spinel's presence can take the pain away..?"

"Yes. So is staying within the estate."

"Why?"

"Your magic is growing. You can't control it yet. Your _kundalini_ or energy, since you are more familiar with that term, is spiraling out of control. Unchecked, it can literally blow your head apart."

He could feel his heart thumping fast, "So what does staying in or having chaperones got to do with it?"

"In case you hadn't notice, Harry-your magic is closer to ours than theirs. The house has a calming effect on your energy so you are not plagued by your headaches. The presence of Akizuki or anyone of us also has the same effect. Until you learn to control it yourself like I have...the headaches will continue to escalate before finally killing you."

It was a sobering realization, "You said...like you...?"

"Yes."

"You have it too...?"

"You got it from me in some roundabout way when you absorbed his own powers..."

"Huh?"

"Why do you think Voldemort even survived you when his spell back lashed?"

"Cause he's one lucky son of a..."

"Cause he powered up first by killing many parents and leaving many kids orphaned... till he finally found what it was he was looking for in my parents…came to our house and killed them for it. I told you...our magic is different from the West...how...? Well...soon enough we can see just how...see...this year is going to be a bit different from last year..." Her voice was carefully neutral as if holding back a dam full of emotions.

His voice sounded tired and defeated, "Are more people going to die this year...?"

"Yes...if he gets his way..."

Silence.

"I dreamt of my uncle…being chased by something…does it mean anything…?"

"Maybe. There's a meeting tonight with the Order. We're invited this time..."

Harry nodded, eyes staring straight ahead. Invited into the secret meetings at last. _Was that a good or bad sign?_

**TBC**

* * *

**K. H. **I'm not sure the tying up of the HP and CCS world went well here but it's all I can come up for now that is even remotely in line with my plot sketch. Oh yeah…to those who submitted their characters…you'll see them soon. Now help me pray that evil bosses won't bury me in office work because that is one big reason for writer's block. That way if the bosses are being nice…the soon will be a few weeks or days…instead of months ;;; _(starts praying while writing down the outlines for the next chapter)_ By the way…thanks to Ghost Whisper for including me in her C2 community.

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	18. The Point of No Return

**DISCLAIMER: **The following characters are not legally mine. The only thing original here is the plotline. Don't waste your time filing a lawsuit against me. I'm broke.

**WARNING:** _Rei Tantei_ + Bloody Mary drinks hangovers and _hentai_ innuendoes. _Shinigami_ guardian is on a short leash so please behave, _minna_. O.o

**THANKIES:** Aya-chan! Also known as Dragon Lady Supreme. For the action ideas and beta-reading it. She's in a phunk mood right now. Hope you get better soon girl. Send her warm fluffies now!

* * *

**K. Hikari: **Whew! That was a quick update. Hopefully Chapter 18 will be as quick if not quicker.

* * *

**Word Watch:**

**_Korosu _**– I'll kill you or something to that effect

**_Nandato_** – What? Say that again.

**_Baka_** – No it's not Spanish or Filipino for cow. It's Japanese for idiot, moron…and other terms of endearment Hiei has for Kuwabara.

**_DA_** – Defense Association a.k.a Dumbledore's Army (from Book 5 of the Harry Potter series)

**_Oni-chan_** – dear older brother

* * *

**Chapter 17: The Point of No Return**

**-**

**-**

**-**

"No wands!" Kazuma exploded. "Then what the hell was all that swishing flicking for if we're not going to use them!"

"Hn."

"That means Hiei-no matter how hard to believe that is-actually agrees with Kazuma."

"What, really? So you mean that Hiei's 'hns' actually have different meanings, Kurama?"

_"Korosu..."_

There were wide grins from Yusuke and Kurama at Hiei's glare towards them.

"Do NOT make me repeat myself," evil glare from Tatsumi towards the _Rei Tantei_.

"But I wanted to go to Diagon Alley...! It's not fair that Pippin got to take Shuuichi there to get his first wand," Botan whined.

Kurama nudged her, " I don't think now is the time...you can tell Sei-san's in a bad mood by that throbbing nerve on his temple."

"And the way the shadows are shifting restlessly..." Yusuke pointed out nervously with a laugh.

Tatsumi heaved in a deep breath and then let out a cleansing sigh.

"But how come Shuichi has a wand..."

Kuwabara apparently deserved his moniker Kuwa-_baka_ which was coined lovingly by Hiei.

"We all have wands so it's only natural he has one too..." Yusuke sniggered.

Botan blinked, clueless as ever. Which is nice now that you think about it. "I thought you guys aren't getting wands...?"

Yusuke and Kurama doubled over in laughter. Kazuma realized the innuendo a full minute after and guffawed. Hiei and Tatsumi were both fighting a grin so as not to ruin their stern demeanor. They managed to reduce it to a smirk.

Botan looked around and then blushed as she realized it, "Yusuke!" She gave him a hard slap in the back.

"Whaaaat?"

"Never mind... I'll...I'll go check if Shuuichi is ready."

She left the room.

Silence for a few minutes as the _Rei Tantei_ gave each other looks and tried not to burst into fits again.

Kazuma opened his mouth to say something which Tatsumi promptly stopped with another of his patented glares. Yusuke made an attempt at another wisecrack. Tatsumi shot him down, "If I hear any more jokes about wands I will seriously shorten yours, Yusuke."

"Eep."

He adjusted his glasses and addressed the group. "I will remind you again of the purpose of this mission. Your covers are exchange students from Japan. Yusuke is Genkai's student. The rest of you are from the different schools of _onmyoujitsu_ in Japan and are highly recommended by Genkai. Genkai's opinion is valued here since she and the Headmaster know each other. Your job as students is to observe how Western magic is done and then show them how we do things in Japan WITHOUT revealing your true identities. Above all you should realize that magic in the West is not openly embraced as it is in the East and so you should show them only what they need to know and nothing else. Am I clear? They know nothing of Spirit Detectives or any agency that processes the dead and the demons they know off are to be killed, no questions ask. "

Nods from the Rei Tantei.

"Second, while there...you are to uncover who is trying to help undo the 10 Commandments and how they plan to do it exactly. The heirs of the remaining Chosen Families will be there as well because what is happening is also affecting them. You are to be very careful since they have their own agendas and they practice the old ways so they will most likely uncover your true identities if you are careless."

More sleepy nodding.

Kurama smiled as politely as he could, "Okay, but what about Kazuma's valid question?"

Vigorous nodding from both Kazuma and Yusuke. Hiei just grunted.

"I was getting there before you people keep interrupting me," he shot the fox a sharp look of annoyance. "The exercise was needed since while you are there to show them how we do things in the East you will also be asked to join in their exercises. Now...answer me...do you honestly want them to see you unable to use your wand Kuwabara? Or have yours exploded in your hand Yusuke?" Tatsumi blinked as he realized how wrong that sounded. "No...Wait...don't answer that."

Yusuke opened his mouth. Hiei beat him to it, "Give it a rest, Yusuke. The gag's getting old."

Yusuke looked disappointed. Tatsumi gave the fire demon a grateful look. "Any more green jokes from you Yusuke and I will discipline you in a way that makes Genkai's training a walk in the park in comparison."

"Yes, sir!"

"Kurama, don't give Yusuke any more bloody maries. The same goes for you too Hiei. Stop daring Urameshi and Kuwabara to have some. Questions, anyone?"

"Awww nuts...!" Yusuke complained.

"Uhm...has anybody seen my favorite blankie? I left it on my bed so I could pack it in my trunk..." Kazuma asked.

_En-ma help me._ They had an hour to make it to King's Cross or else miss the train completely. He stared at his wards and wondered again what was in his karma to have had this responsibility.

-

-

-

Shepherding two _Rei Tantei_ members who were still suffering from a mild hangover was no easy task. After being stuck in the infamous London traffic they had less than 10 minutes left to make it to platform 9 and ¾, the name of which had gotten another wise ass remark from Yusuke that led to Kurama placing his hands around his younger brother's ears. Botan had to keep a hand on Kuwabara who had a tendency to wander off so he won't get lost in the crowded train station while Tatsumi checked to make sure Yusuke wasn't annoying too many people with his hyper condition. He left the fox to oversee that nobody lost their luggage and that his younger brother was not feeling very overwhelmed with all of these.

Shuuichi had gotten a small spotted owl for his familiar as well as a wand made of white birch and a strand of unicorn hair for its core. He had come back from his trip at Diagon Alley all excited and happy at what he'd seen and heard, spending the rest of the day talking about it. Meanwhile, to ease their disappointment at not being allowed to come, the others decided to hit the mini bar of their room and Kurama had managed to mix up drinks with what's available. They'd stopped as soon as Tatsumi and Pippin had walked in. Pippin had excused himself when Tatsumi started yelling at them about being sober for tomorrow's trip.

"This way people," Tatsumi barked at the group as he led them towards platforms 9 and 10. Somewhere in between that would be platform 9 and 3/4. Kuwabara looked up and slurred a bit, "Oi...neat..." He had meant the way the magical platform was shielded from ordinary eyes.

Hiei snorted, "Who are they kidding with those barriers...?"

Yusuke exclaimed in a loud voice that it was amazing that the place wasn't attacked with demons considering the paltry use of _chi._ A few passersby turned to look at him so Kurama had to drag him back to the group and apologize that his friend had watched too many _anime_ last night.

Shuuichi blinked and just stared at the pillar between platform 9 and 10. _Where was platform 9 and ¾?_

"Well, what are you people dawdling there off? Get going," Tatsumi snapped. Botan pushed a sleepy Kuwabara through the pillar much to Shuuichi's surprise. Hiei followed, snorting his dislike. Yusuke shuffled his way to it under Tatsumi's icy glare.

"It's all right, Shuuichi. We'll go through it together," Kurama said soothingly to his brother, taking his hand in one and pushing the luggage cart with the other. Shuuichi half expected to run into solid wall and closed his eyes as he let his brother push him through. When he didn't feel a solid smack he opened them tentatively and was greeted with the sight of a busy platform filled with families and people in odd clothes and robes.

"Talk about cliché..." Kurama mumbled in disbelief. Here and there, children and a few other adults walked or ran around in black robes. Some even had pointed hats on. The crowd chatter was occasionally punctuated by some familiar's screeching, howling, hooting or even croaking. A few feet away were a group of kids obviously discussing the attributes of a broom that another kid was holding. The train let out a whistle and someone called out all aboard. Kids started boarding, tearful parents waved goodbye, others wish their kids luck, still others had their folks handing them out last minute instructions.

"Okay...this is where I leave you...I have something else to attend."

"You're leaving us...?" Kuwabara looked like he was about to cry. That earned him odd looks from the group.

Tatsumi cleared his throat, "Try not to get into trouble so soon. Oh and Kurama...make sure the train reaches Hogwarts in one piece and not blown up accidentally over there by Urameshi."

"Meet up later?" Yusuke asked; a bit more sobered up now but yawning.

"You do your jobs. I do mine," the _shinigami_ responded.

Another long blast from the train whistle. The _Rei Tantei_ nodded at the shinigami and got on board.

-

-

-

Ron looked at his list of Gryffindors and tried not to get dizzy as the train chugged its way through the verdant country side. Due to last years events, the magical community could no longer afford denying the return of Him-who-must-not-be-named. As a result, additional measures to ensure the safety of Hogwarts students were taken. In his hand was a list of Gryffindor students who enrolled for the school year. On another list were the names of some of the freshmen who were taking the Hogwarts Express. The new students list was divided amongst House leaders since it was still unsure to which Houses they would be sorted in. He, as well as the other House leaders, was to check if everyone got on the train and if not find out why. He looked at the list sadly. He didn't see some familiar names in the Gryffindor list. He couldn't blame them. _More minus points for Vol-_

"Yo, carrot head!"

Ron frowned as that familiar annoying voice called his name and interrupted his thoughts. He ignored it and continued checking each compartment for the names of the students on his list.

"Hey, freckle face! I'm talking to you!"

_Calm down and ignore him._

"I said I'm talking to you!"

A hand came down Ron's shoulder and he turned around so quickly he almost lost his balance. His antagonizers laughed. "Ooooh...look at Weasley...acting like a frightened twit...," Malfoy's goons taunted.

"I see that another year has passed, and your friends still don't have half a brain, Malfoy."

_Cripes. Hermione. Oh man...she should have stayed out of this._ She was several room compartments ahead of him since they had decided to start on the opposite ends then meet at the center of the train cab. Apparently, Malfoy's arrival had drawn her towards his side.

"Weeeellll... If it ain't the mudblood herself, "Draco drawled out. He sleeked back his blond hair and grinned at her cheekily. "Come to the rescue of your friend, eh, Granger?"

"Go away Draco. Can't you see we have work to do?" spat back the bushy haired House Leader of Gryffindor.

"Oh, so now Red here deigns to speak?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Really Draco, every year, same routine. It's becoming so cliché already. And since when did you learn to use a big word like 'deign'?"

Crabbe and Goyle grunted and made a step towards her. Ron found to his surprise that he'd move to put himself between Malfoy's goons and Hermione, "Don't even think of touching her..."

"Or what?" Malfoy's eyes narrowed. "Harry comes to your rescue again? Speaking off...where is that pathetic excuse of a wizard?"

"He's not on board," Hermione said, her eyes level with Draco's.

"Didn't enroll? What a coward."

"Oh no...He's enrolled," Ron said haughtily. "You'll see."

"No I don't see, Weasley. All I see is that there is no Potter around."

"Ignore him Ron. Let him strut around. He won't be acting like the top dog for long when those exchange students come around." She tugged Ron's arm trying to lead him away from Malfoy.

Crabbe spoke up, "Uhm...those eastern magicians?"

Draco snorted, "Oh puh-leeze... What can they do that we can't? My dad says Eastern magic is nothing."

Ron and Hermione started to laugh. Draco opened his mouth for another sharp retort when Hermione pointed to him with her wand, "If I hear anymore remarks from you I swear I will remove your voice for the duration of this trip!"

Ron looked at his list then back at Draco, "Say...they never told you that if you don't finish checking your lists, your House gets minus points?"

Draco stopped and stared," Very funny Weasly."

"Oh he's not kidding," Hermione nodded. "And if you falsify it... more minus points."

Draco grabbed the list that he'd handed to Goyle when he spied Ron. The tick marks he'd placed there to make it look liked he'd done his job was gone. All of them.

"What did you do, mudblood!" Draco grabbed Hermione's arm painfully before Ron could do anything about it.

The door to the compartment slid open suddenly and a surly looking and extremely tall guy with hair even redder than that of Ron's stepped out to glare at the group. "What's all the noise about?" the kid drawled sleepily.

The group froze and turned to stare at this new student in surprise. Kazuma stared back at them. He was still sleepy and he didn't like being interrupted in his nap. Not only that...he didn't like waking up to hear people shouting then see someone manhandling a female. He glanced at Hermione then back to Draco then back to Hermione again, "Is he giving you trouble, miss?

A blue haired girl squeezed out from somewhere between the tall guy's body and the door frame and bowed, "Oh I'm so sorry... please excuse us... he always gets like that when he's interrupted from his sleep."

Kuwabara remained staring at the way Draco was holding Hermione's arms.

"Tch. Unlike this guy over here..." A new voice piped up.

Heads craned to look at the owner of the new voice. It was a smaller young man, dressed all in black with his black hair all spiked up and the odd white starburst on his bangs. He had been gesturing to another young man, whose head was leaning on the window, drooling in his sleep and snoring loudly, his black hair sleek back. Beside him was another young man with a face that made both Slytherin and Gryffindor do a double take at its beauty. He was smiling politely at them all and was obviously interrupted while playing a game of cards with another younger man with brown hair. The new group looked obviously Asian except for the handsome young man playing cards and the blue haired girl. There's was a look that hinted of mixed heritage-part Asian...part...Caucasian.

"Bugger off. It's none of your business, newbies," Crabbe so unwisely proclaimed and tried to look intimidating...except he came up at Kuwabara's eyebrow level.

_"Nandato...?"_ Kuwabara growled. "Where we come from, we respect our women."

"Then why don't you crawl back into whatever hole you came from," Malfoy snapped. Goyle pushed Botan aside roughly. She tripped and almost landed hard if Kurama hadn't caught her. He looked at the group and said in his most neutral voice, "That wasn't very nice."

"Yeah, well deal with it, Asian boy. You're in Europe now." he twisted Hermione's arm and she yelped. Ron saw red and took a wild swing at Draco. Draco dodges it in time, pushing Hermione towards Ron. She and Ron landed in a heap. Something skidded out into the corridor and stopped short in front of Goyle's foot. Kuwabara braced himself for good punch at Crabbe.

Yusuke chose that moment to wake up, jumping up all of a sudden and going very still as if listening for something. Kuwabara's fist halted a mere centimeters away from Crabbe's face who had been shocked at the quickness of the movement. He, too, was cocking his ear as if listening for something- a look of intense concentration on his face, forgetting that seconds ago he wanted to hurt Crabbe badly. A couple of last year's DA members had poked their heads out, wand ready, curious about what was going on.

Ron and Hermione stared at the way the Asians seemed to freeze in mid-movement, eyes and ears alert for something that it seemed only they could sense. They couldn't help but try to feel out what it was the group noticed.

Draco felt the sudden change of mood and looked a bit frightened, unsure as to what is happening. Crabbe and Goyle just looked confused.

"What... is... that?" Yusuke said, turning his head this way and that as if trying to get the bearings of a sound. The smaller guy also jumped on the seat then opened the window, wind rushing in the compartment. He sniffed the air then turned back with a scowl on his face. The blue haired girl looked wide eyed. In the scuffle, they barely noticed that the train had sped up and was no longer going at its usual comfortable pace.

"W-What's going on?" Hermione had found her voice. The looks on the new students faces were starting to scare her. Not that they were trying to look scary but that it seemed they know something; and that something was bad- very bad.

"We're nearing one of the borders."

It was the small guy. His voice sounded tight.

"It don't sound and smell like that when we near the borders..." the other guy with black hair said. He was frowning too.

"Oni-chan?" the youngest of the group said, looking at the other red head who was currently helping the blue-haired girl up.

"It's alright Shuuichi. Just stay here. Botan will look after you."

"I demand an explanation!" Draco said indignantly. He didn't like his spotlight stolen from him. He was completely ignored.

"Kurama, what do you think?"

"I don't know Yusuke...the border sounds like it's pushed to its limits already. Maybe it'll hold, maybe it won't."

"Border?"

"Shut up ugly face!" Kuwabara jerked Crabbe by the collar.

"Look who's talking!"

"ENOUGH!"

They turned to Hermione who had regained her composure. "As House Leader of Gryffindor I am ordering you all back into your compartments and to stay there for the duration of the trip!" A few students had slunk back into their rooms at her command.

"And if we say no?" Draco smirked.

A zap from Hermione's wand singed part of Draco's hair. Before he could react, Ron had his wand up too and pointed at him, "Don't even think about it Malfoy. School year hasn't officially started yet but you're already losing House points."

This time...they heard a faint but very distinct groaning sound. Kurama stepped in front of their outstretched wands and shook his head firmly, "No…no magic."

Goyle took the chance to go for his wand and uttered a spell, "Expelliar-ugh!" Before he could finish the incantation, Shuuichi had jumped on him shouting a warning to his brother. The spell went awry. Instead of pulling the wands from Ron and Hermione, a tiny explosion punched a hole into the train roof. He and Goyle crashed on the floor.

_"Baka!"_ and Hiei let loose a series of expletives that not even his translator could handle.

Moments later the groaning sound was now louder until it seemed that the land was splitting apart. The train shuddered then lurched wildly.

"Oh hell!" Yusuke yelled over the sound of creaking, crashing and the wind howling past. There were a few shrieks and yells heard over the other rooms at the unfamiliar speed. They were heading straight for the mountain underpass that marked the borders between the Muggle and Magical Worlds.

"What...what's going on...?" Draco and his friends look around wildly. The train wasn't supposed to go this fast. It was as if it was making a run for something. A feeling of dread was starting to settle in his stomach. Something very bad was happening and they didn't know what.

"Close the window Botan!" Kurama yelled over the noise. He turned to Hermione, "Tell everyone on this train to close their windows! Now! Trust me...when we go in that tunnel...you don't want your window open. And you don't want to be caught outside the cabs either!"

Hiei was looking up at the hole on the ceiling, "What about that?"

Ron scrambled, "I'll fix that. Reparo!" The hole sealed itself. Hermione ran towards the other end of the cab where there she could relay the instructions to the other House leaders on the other cabs. There was a portrait there that served as their messaging system since the characters in the paintings could move from one frame to the other in each cab quicker than they could move from one cab to the next.

"Go," Kurama nudge Ron. "Go tell everyone in this cab to close their windows or any openings whatsoever. Check! Make sure EVERYONE is inside."

Something in the boy's tone didn't allow for questions. That would come later. Ron decided he didn't like the way the outside world was starting to sound and he didn't want to know. It sounded terrible and it felt bad.

"Why...is the sky darkening?"

Draco whirled around to look at Crabbe who was still hanging a few inches off the floor thanks to Kuwabara. His friend was staring wide eyed at the window in the Asian's room. He glanced at what his friend was looking at and felt dread settle in his stomach. The sky was a dirty shade of grays and yellows. Something was creeping over the horizon. The groaning sound that seemed to come from deep inside the earth sounded louder. Despite all openings having been closed, the smell had seeped through enough to make some of the more sensitive students sick to their stomachs.

"Now what do we do?" Kuwabara looked at his friends, nose wrinkling in disgust.

Yusuke had come down from his seat and crossed his arms, jaw set. "Now...we wait..."

"And if the train doesn't make it?" Hiei asked calmly as if he was just discussing ordinary weather outside and the train they were on wasn't racing at speeds that the regulars didn't know it was built or even capable off. Or that the outside world hadn't gone nuts.

"What do you mean 'doesn't make it'!"

The _Rei Tantei_ turned to the blond Slytherin and gave him a smile that made him whimper.

Yusuke gave a feral grin, "Then we're screwed. Hope you know how to fight, European boy."

-

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**TBC**

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**K.H.** Help! How do I subscribe to a C2 community? I keep getting this _"You must be logged on message"_ when I'm already logged on. And just when I think I've got the formatting stuff right on they go on a change it again and screw up my spacing and character fonts! Waaaahhhh! _(cries)_

Oh! Told you the next update would be quick if the office doesn't drown me in paper works. I'm looking forward to writing the next chapter.

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	19. The Point of No Return: II

**DISCLAIMER: **See very first Chapter.

**BETA-READER/ PLOT PUSHER/ SPELL CASTER : **Dragon Lady Supreme. Thanks for tipping me off on the "moon" thing. I had no idea.

**ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:** Yahoo and MSN messenger. Also Grey Acumen for helping smooth out some of the awkward phrasing in some paragraphs.

**KoHi: **Yays! I'm on a roll! New update! Thank the muses and my friends. I love the train! Fweee! (huggles miniature version of the Hogwart's Express)

**WARNING:** 16 pages in MS Word. It's that long. Blood, gore and mayhem. No don't worry…it's not _that _bloody…I think…

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**_WORD WATCH:_**

**Tootakalapoie**** – **It's a made up word by one of my friends and means going beyond confuse and overwhelmed by the facts.

**Apparate** – 6th graders can teleport themselves from one place to the other in the HP universe but usually not without singeing a few brows while learning it.

* * *

**A/N: **

**1. Coins –** In book 5 of the HP series, the DA's used special coins to inform members of their plans or where their next meeting will be held.

**2.****Genbu**** – **One of the beasts destroyed by the Rei Tantei in Yusuke's first missions in the _anime_. He was a demon with boulders for body parts except at one certain point that Kurama discovered.

* * *

**Chapter 18: Point of No Return: Part II**

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Harry watches the stately old gentleman carry his bags down the stairs. The servants in the manor were either invisible or suddenly appear when you need them then vanish when you don't. It'd taken him awhile to get use to it all. There were times he'd feel somebody waking him up for the morning, open his eyes and realized he was alone. He could go take a shower and find a towel and his clothes ready for him when he was done. Or mused that he needed a bath and find it ready when he gets to his room.

Miriya had laughed when he asked if she might be getting used to having things done for her and end up not knowing how to do things at all. She had answered that sometimes the servants made sure she knows how to do what they do by letting her do the chores herself and reporting to Eriol when she doesn't. She also said that Lady Mizuki taught her arts and crafts. "We use magic, Harry. But we don't rely on it as much as your friends seem to do," she had said. "We use it for other things. Things that really need magic to get done. Other than that...we find the muggle way efficient enough. Besides, it's fun doing things on your own."

To which he had responded how Eriol sometimes use magic for his own convenience-like the bubble bath incident to clean up both Suppi and Kero who had gotten into a chocolate food fight. She just smiled and shrugged saying he got into those moods from time to time and who wants to clean up magical grouchy, sticky kitties anyway-unless of course you don't mind being scratched. Harry considered and thought the plush Kero might not be problem. The bigger Spinel might be though. Wrestling with a 200 pound all muscle black cat to give it a bath was not exactly appealing to him.

He followed the butler towards the front door where a white limo was parked. It looked like a stretched out SUV but more elegant. The butler was loading his bags at the back along with the other bags. Lady Mizuki had taken him, Ron, Ginny and Hermione out shopping in London a few days before and got them new clothes and bags. They'd protested but the woman wouldn't have any of it. They ended up with a whole new wardrobe from designer labels and Harry got expensive suitcases and luggage in addition to the new clothes. He also got new glasses-he'd declined to have contacts fitted. Their familiars also got some new stuff in a side trip to Diagon Alley for the things they would need this school year; including having their wands cleaned and tuned at Ollivander's.

The Weasleys and Grangers were of course feeling a bit overwhelmed at the gifts but both Eriol and Mizuki waved it off saying they don't mind sharing what they have and don't see the logic behind hoarding their blessings. "Besides," Eriol had said. "We give them to you freely. It's now yours and up to you what to do with it."

This was the reason why his trusty trunk was retired for now. Miriya had placed a strong enchantment on his luggage so that no one else can open it except the owner ("Even if they use an ICBM on it, they won't get it to open," Miriya had laughingly said though he suspected that was the truth.), locks or no. "Plus!" she'd exclaimed looking like a grinning cat (he'd half expected kitty ears to pop out of her head). "Whoever touches it who isn't the owner will leave his hand and fingerprint on the leather and it'll light up when you ask who touched your stuff and they get nasty zaps until they admit it." This, Harry decided, wasn't so bad after all when he goes back to live with the Dursley's again during the school break. His cousin would probably be dying to get his grubby hands on his stuff. _Mental Note: Get Miriya to teach him the spell. Would come in very handy at times._

He found Miriya trying to coax a sleepy Kero into her bag with a piece of cake. Eriol and Mizuki were talking to Yukito and Touya. The driver of the limo, who was minutes ago the butler, was standing by and ready for them.

"Tell me again why I wasn't on the train with Ron and Hermione?"

Miriya got up and dusted her white slacks having successfully coax Kero in her bag. Harry could see the bag moving-Kero was gulping the cake again most likely before going to sleep. "Because the Families will be there," she answered.

"So?"

"I told you. There's another world within the magic world you know-one that straddles both magical and muggle world and far older than both..."

"Yes...I know the story... Older, more secretive blah blah..."

"Yeah well appearances matter to these people if you want to be taken seriously. And you want to be taken seriously, trust me."

"But these clothes..." he looked at the expensive threads he was wearing, a white turtleneck shirt, matching white slacks and black coat. It matched her all white outfit- which showed off her olive skin tone, dark hair and eyes beautifully but subtly. A silver necklace hung on her neck. He noticed she never took it off.

"What about them?"

"I feel overdressed." He'd never worn expensive clothes before.

"Heh. Trust me. When we meet them, WE'RE underdressed."

"I'm not sure what the rest of Hogwarts will think though."

"Well it's going to be an interesting year...that's for sure."

-

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"You sure it was a good idea giving it to his friend?" Touya asked, concern clouding his dark chocolate eyes. Eriol just smiled enigmatically.

"Yeah...now I remember why I don't like you very much," Touya sulked.

"I'm sure he knows what he's doing," Yukito said cheerfully.

"Are you ready, children?" Mizuki called out to Harry and Miriya who were arguing about something.

"Welp..." Eriol said suddenly as the two got in the car still arguing. From what could be overheard it was about quidditch. "So the Dance continues..." He smiled happily at everyone.

"Oh...I hate it when he does that," Touya muttered and glared at Eriol's happy look who pretended not to notice.

-

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The students at the last cab starred uneasily at each other upon the announcement of the House Leader assigned to that cab. A few minutes ago a tall newbie, whose long hair was tied up in a messy braid, had ordered the same thing to their leader. This was not taken seriously-till of course the train started doing that mad jiggle, the eerie groaning sound from outside started and that message from Ms. Granger. A few of them had already thrown up from a combination of the stink and motion sickness.

"And under no circumstances will ANY of you look outside!" the tall girl said, her reddish brown eyes glinting in the gathering shadows. There was the sound of windows being closed and shades drawn hurriedly. It didn't take much for her to convince them. She'd caught a glimpse of the countryside twisting horribly out of shape for lack of better words to describe it. It was enough to scare the students.

They were starting to cross over the borders. Ordinarily, the trip would be uneventful and barely noticeable. _But when you've got the energy strained enough as it is..._

Aya chewed her lips and tapped her foot impatiently. So someone from the other cabs knew about it too. She'd felt the surge in the _chi_ minutes before another House leader seconded her message. That sudden spike was gone now-as if whoever was fighting had stopped.

She turned back to the house leader nearest to her and towered over the guy, "No magic too. Got that? Not unless ABSOLUTELY necessary."

The student nodded.

"Why?" a voice timidly asked.

"Because it makes whatever is happening worse. Much worse," she answered, gritting her teeth; the borderlines were strained as it was. Any random bursts of magic could overstress the tether, snapping it and letting the two worlds spill over into each other. Even a basic grasp of science made it understood that any point in space could only be occupied by a single matter at a time. Any more than that and the very best result would be that only one would be destroyed.

-

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Miriya looked up from her cards to stare into nothing, her eyes going blank. That look always freaked him out when he sees that but he knew she was seeing something he couldn't. He put the cards down. Him, Yukito and Miriya were playing a friendly game of poker to pass the time on their way to Hogwarts.

"Miriya?" he asked, a bit worried. Yukito was just looking silently at Miriya.

She snapped out of it. "We're taking a detour...?" she asked no one in particular, looking out of the window.

"Detour...?" Harry blinked and looked at Yukito. Yukito shrug and said gently he didn't know how to get to Hogwarts.

"I didn't get much," Miriya said, picking up her cards to resume playing. "But it figures why the car took a detour."

"Figure what?" Harry frowned at his hand then hurriedly faked a smile hoping they hadn't caught that look. He'd been losing badly.

"One of the border points is being overwhelmed," she replied calmly.

"What!" his bad cards were forgotten. "Is it in the way of the Express?"

She nodded and dropped a card, picking out another.

"You serious? Why are you acting so calmly? Students are on board. My friends are on that train!"

Yukito turned to smile at him calmly. That smile was getting irritating quickly. "There is a reason why Master Eriol allowed your friends on that train."

"Yes," she nodded solemnly, face unreadable again." I think he meant for them to close the breach or save the students...anyhow...the breach will have to be closed soon. It can't be left like that. Besides, being House Leaders, they have duties..."

"How!"

The two just shrugged and looked at him.

"I can't believe you are both so calm at this. You've told me the consequences of the collapsing Commandments and yet here you are calmly playing poker while a border point is imploding!"

"Harry..." Her voice was low and authoritative.

"What!" he snarled.

"Balance. Equilibrium. Everything seeks balance. Fate can be altered. Destiny cannot."

"Are you saying they are going to die closing this breach and or saving the students?"

"Didn't see that far in the future, but I don't think so. Not yet."

"Not yet!"

"Hey...we all die. It's just a matter of when and how. May also want to work on that temper of yours there."

"That's better. Show of hands?" she resumed the game.

"The House of Reed always this infuriating?" he grumbled.

She shrugged, "Look at it this way, if YOU find it infuriating already, and you're not even a direct member of the House, just think of what I'M feeling."

"Guess being a seer sucks, huh?" he muttered dejectedly.

"Oh yes. Wait till you get your other powers. Now...show of hands?"

"Other-" he didn't even bother finishing the question. There was no point in asking about it right now. Harry looked at his cards and grimaced, "I fold."

-

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-

Aya could feel the magical tethers protesting at the strain put on it. They weren't going to hold for long, and it couldn't be left as it is should it hold. She looked at the students' bewildered eyes. No one else in this cab could feel it. All they knew was something was wrong outside. _Great...that means no one here would know how to close it or something._

She thought back to the House Leader who'd ordered the cab locked down tight... _Granger, was it? Maybe that one knew something._ She approached the leader, "Hey... listen. I'm serious about the no magic thing. That includes apparating okay?"

The leader nodded.

"Good... I'll go to this Granger and see if that one has any ideas on how to get through this."

"But how? You said so yourself no going out of the cabs."

"I know what I said," she snapped. "That's why I'm apparating."

"But you said no magic..." his words were cut short when she punched the wall making the whole panel shudder.

"Look, I KNOW what I said, but if you want to get to Hogwarts breathing, you'd better do as I say. And yes... I can apparate... it's minor magic... it will affect what's happening but the way I see it...its going to break anyway, but that doesn't mean I'm saying its okay to use magic now. Got it?"

"Break...?" The poor boy was obviously going tootakalapoie.

Sigh. "I'll explain later if we're still alive. My point is, if any of you attempt to apparate, you are going to be stuck outside- breathing in that," wrinkles her nose. "...Stink. If you think what you smell is bad now wait till you get outside." _Yeah cause you'll be breathing in Makai air. But I'd survive because I'm from there...or was... Gods dammit I hate being so easily confused._

"Got it. No magic and apparating."

She looked at a determined looking 10 year old that had spoken out loud. _Gee...if only the older students had as much sense as that one._

-

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-

The cab that Malfoy and company were on was eerily silent as they sense something big crawling on the train roof. Something big and scaly by the sounds of it. Draco was pressed up as far as possible from the train walls, looking frightened. The Asians were calm but alert, positioning themselves in different points of the cab. The girl called Botan was hugging the smaller boy huddled on her lap.

"Oh no...Where is it!"

Everyone turned to Hermione in surprise.

"No...No...I can't lose it...! It was for Miriya..." she looked distressed as she searched her robes for the missing item.

"Uhm...now is really not the time to be worrying for that, " Ron pointed out.

"You don't understand...it was a family heirloom...a surprise gift for her from Eriol...!"

Draco couldn't believe his ears. _They were in danger and she's worrying about a present? Women._

"Someone's coming." It was the smaller guy who'd been standing the farthest from them.

A few seconds later there was a shimmer and an extremely tall girl apparated in their midst. The students blinked. _They could sense if someone apparates? Was that even possible? Wait...she used magic..._

"Hey! She used magic!" Crabbe pointed out. The new girl knocked him unconscious with one punch and looked around.

"Who's Granger?" she asked, looking around.

"Who wants to know...?" Ron asked, trying not to squeak in the process.

"I'm Granger. Why do you ask?"

Aya turned her attention to the girl. "You have any ideas how we close that hole?" _Strange...she felt...normal...no different from the other students...her chi was strong though. That could probably be it. _

"Close...?" Hermione looked fuddled.

"I think he does," Yusuke pointed to Kurama who made a wry face at him.

"Why do you always assume I have all the answers...?"

"Hn. Don't you always...?"

Kuwabara sniffed, "Yeah. You're the genius in the group."

Aya's eyes narrowed at the boys. They were definitely not students. Newbies like her from the looks of them. "You're Asians!" she sighed in relief, despite the still-present building tensions. "Thank _kami-sama_ for that...now what do we do...?"

"So what if they're Asians?" Malfoy said in an irritated voice.

Aya towered over him and glared, "Because unlike you Western pansies using magic to wash your dishes and play stupid games, onmyouji use their magic to keep Balance."

Before Draco could reply, the sound of wood splitting, but not giving way, drew their attention. Suddenly, darkness consumed everyone; they'd entered the tunnel.

Everyone was too frightened to make a sound, whimper, or otherwise. The newbies on the other hand, as Ron observed, looked calm... but worried. As if they had other worries than dying horribly. _What else could be worse than dying a painful death…?_ Ron decided he didn't want to know.

"God I am so thankful for being a member of the DA," Hermione muttered. "I just hope what we learned is enough."

"DA?" Kurama had snuck up to her without her noticing. He regarded her thoughtfully.

Hermione turned to look at this beautiful man and couldn't help but admire those green eyes, "Uhm...yes. A club that Harry and us started last year. It was really... helpful... " _Shoot__... I'm rambling. Hermione this is not the time to start swooning over a guy._ "So...err...how do we close this...?" _Why does he look like he's studying me…?_

"The only way to close the border is to use a large amount of sustained magical energy to energize the field lines again. Small bursts would only aggravate the lines and cause it to break." Kurama looked away.

"How do we accomplish that...?" she asked him. A part of her was disappointed that he was no longer looking at her.

"Still thinking how..." _Yeah because it means we have to reveal our true identities this soon. _

_/Or...we could just suck everyone's life force out and use it to power the field lines back so even if we revealed our identities they'd be dead so it won't do them any good, right/ _Youko chuckled.

En-ma would probably be more than happy to throw them down the dungeon if they did that. Or the shinigami would throw a fit and haul their asses back to Meifu and probably force them to work for the rest of eternity for the screw up. He had a feeling Tatsumi would most likely request that from En-ma and have it granted.

_/En-ma's a fool./_

_Shut up, Youko._

It was at that moment that the train's protection spell gave way. There was the sound of glass breaking, wood splintering and finally giving in, and students screaming in terror.

_Shit._

_"Mommy..."_ Goyle whimpered.

-

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-

The train lurched like a wounded animal. The _Protego_ spell that was part of its safety mechanisms was open in several places and Makai insects and the smaller demons that could fit poured in to feed on the fresh meat they smelled inside.

Screams of terror all over the train was heard as the older students fought back, spells ricocheting back and forth, making more holes. The roof in the Rei Tantei's cab was ripped open and they were faced with the dilemma of using their powers. Hiei had no problem-his sword and speed could be explained in a way acceptable to the Western magicians.

Aya had enough of the semi-darkness as she hacked another demon using one of the many weapons she had on her body.

"Light! Goddamit! Somebody light this place up!" she screamed.

At once several students yelled _Lumos_ and the gloom was lit up by many wands driving the demons backwards at the glare. More screams pierced the fighters' hearing as many students got bitten by the insects.

Kurama frowned as he had no choice but to use his rose whip and hoped he could explain it later. Youko was enjoying himself and wanted out. He ignored the fox.

_/Awww…come on. These demons are so pathetic I'd love to play with them. /_

_Shut up._

Yusuke happily pounded away at every demon stupid enough to come near him, he wasn't using his Rei gun just yet…these were low level demons. He gave a grudging respect to the students…they were holding on their own despite the sickening smell of the air and the demon horde…barely…but for people who've never seen combat duty they were pretty decent.

Kuwabara had the biggest problem. _How will he explain his Rei Ken…?_ A slimy demon jumped on him and he screamed girlishly in surprise. Next thing he knew he was covered in gore and Hiei was smirking at him before dealing with another nasty.

"Wuss."

"What was that again, short-stuff!" he yelled back irately as his _rei__ ken_ appeared in his anger and sliced another demon. He stormed over to where Hiei was. "I am NOT a wuss!"

"Whatever."

**Slice.**

**Dice. **

"Fine! Let's see who kills more demons then!"

**Hack. **

**Swoosh. **

"Hn."

Ron yelled for Hermione to watch her back. A demon had landed behind her as she protected a freshman.

"'Mione! Watch out!"

Too late. The ugly thing had her at her waist. It opened its mouth and laughed at having caught its prey. Hermione fought back valiantly, trying to free herself from the tentacles but she couldn't get her wand to point at the vile creature.

"Ron!" she cried out for him.

The demon screamed then vanished. She fell right into the arms of Kurama. Ron felt a sudden surge of jealousy then shook his head. _Now wasn't the time._

"Quick," Kurama said urgently to her. "We need some sort of force field to get them off the train. We're not going to last long in this horde."

"Coins!" Ron said excitedly, finally having some idea that might help them after all. Kurama and Hermione stared at him then the green eyed Asian dumped Hermione on his arms. "Good…you two work it out…." They both watch as Kurama used his strange whip that took out 4 demons at the same time.

"He's so cool," she mumbled dazedly.

Ron grunted and raised his eyebrow, not quite successful in hiding his petulant tone, "Yeah yeah…fine…so you got a crush on him big deal…but the train?"

"Protego spell..?" she answered deciding their talk will have to wait later. "Train is too big for one protego spell…"

Ron nodded, eyes bright with his idea, "That's why we use the coins and alert the other DA's!"

She shoved him down hard.

"Oi! Its not a …" A demon head dropped in front of him and he realized she just saved him.

"You were saying?" she was grinning at him.

"Oh…" he stepped back as the head oozed icky blood.

"Go on…use your coin…send the message to the DA's…at the count of 10…we use _Protego_"

They ducked as something went flying over their heads. They didn't want to get a second look to know what that is. They weren't _that _curious. Not now.

"Me? You're faster at this!" Ron protested.

"But I have better aim than you so go! I can protect you."

"But…"

"Oi! Lovebirds! You done arguing yet?" Yusuke said irately. He could hear them talking through his enhance hearing. "Cause we really need that _protego_something… right about…oh 5 minutes ago!"

**Crack.**

Yusuke had found a broken piece of wood handy for impaling the demons.

Ron grumbled and got to work, fumbling for his coin while Hermione watch his back. Unknown to the group-another demon…much larger and obviously on a higher power level was approaching. It was attracted to the energy being used and was very hungry for it.

Aya heard the strange buzzing in her head that told her a something more powerful was coming. _Oh crap. Crap. Crap._ Hiei turned towards the direction, eyes narrowing. So did the rest of the Rei Tantei…well except for Kuwabara who was screaming bloody murder to any demon and nearly got singed by the students when they mistook him for a demon too.

"How long is this damn tunnel!" Malfoy screamed. A demon jumped him, he burned it off with his wand. His aim was steadily improving. _Having his shoulder nearly torn off does that to you I guess. Miss badly and you might not get a second shot._

Spells flew back and forth. Curses too. But the effectivity of most curses depends on the spell casters intention. Some fell short and the DA's came to their aids. Those who could not cast offense spells fell back on defense…Some who knew a healing spell helped those who got injured.

Ron hurried to scribble his message on his coin glancing up from time to time to see his fellow students fight back the horde. The Asian was right. They weren't going to last if this kept up. Many of his fellow DAs looked weary. The curses were taking a lot out of them. Sometimes it was what was needed to stop a demon from hurting one of their own. A desire to protect them all welled up from him. He finished the message and helped Hermione.

_We are not going to be defeated_, he thought grimly. "Die! DIE you cursed creatures!" he screamed, power surging through his wand and taking out several demons at once. He stared at it unbelievably and found that several of the students and the DAs were now looking at him with awe.

"Ron," he heard Hermione's soft voice. "They're looking up to you…"

He nodded dumbly and felt a sense of purpose come over him. He heard himself speak in a strong voice, "Fight! Fight my friends! Let them know we are not to be trifled with!"

The students roared their agreement, hope and fresh strength welling up from inside them, making their spells more powerful. The demons were taken aback but only for a while.

"Great," Hiei muttered. "He just had to rile them up. Now the demons are pissed."

**Stab.**

"Aww, Hiei," Kurama teased. "Give the boy some credit. I was wondering when he'd step up."

**Rip.**

"He's going to get them all killed, that's what I think."

**Slash.**

"I…don't think so…"

-

-

-

"You're sick, did you know that?" Touya said as he placed his knight on the black square.

He and Eriol were playing a game of chess outside the patio, enjoying the wonderful weather. He was still a bit sore at Eriol's decision to let Ron and Hermione take the Express even though it took them straight to danger. _And to carry Clow Cards without being told what they are? That was just…wrong!_

Eriol just nodded and used a pawn to capture Touya's knight.

"What are you hoping to accomplish anyway sending them off into that train with no instructions or advise or even protection whatsoever?" Touya got Eriol's rook in return for the knight.

"I'm hoping they'd find it in themselves," Eriol replied cheerfully as he moved his Queen to a final spot. "Check"

Touya grinned and moved his other rook, "Nope…check…mate."

Eriol looked at the board and nodded, accepting his defeat. "Well…you can't win all of them."

-

-

-

There was a defiant roar and Aya turned to look ahead of the train.

_Aww__ shit!_

Framed by the train's onrushing headlights, a big bruiser of a demon stood in the train's way. _Yes. My day just gets better._

"Everyone! Hold on! We're going to crash!" she yelled.

Seconds later, metal and wood groaned as it crashed into the demon. The train wasn't stopping though. It started to push against the demon, driving it back. She could feel the train straining, could sense it's almost sentient will. _It will bring the students back…It will bring them to Hogwarts…and nothing will stop it._

The train let out a loud angry whistle, fighting against the obstacle. Metal wheels grated on the rails. Sparks flew. She could feel the train losing. Aya dropped down and gave the train a hug or at least tried to…fully aware of how vulnerable she must look right now…but if that demon pushed them back…they can kiss their sorry lives goodbye.

"Come on…yeah baby…you can do it..." she patted the wood soothingly, sending in cool waves of her energy. No one would notice…they were too busy fighting.

Another loud sound. The Express was definitely pissed. She could feel it lurching again and then there was a great surge of power. The demon growled before the train ran over it…crushing it in its wheels, spraying blood and gore. The cabs lurch and jumped. Students screamed as a few of them lost their balance. Helpful hands reached out to drag them back to safety.

_Gods…if they survive this…_

She felt something hard and heavy land on her back, pushing her down and knocking her wand off, sending it skidding out of her reach.

_Fuck._

The large demon roared happily at getting its prey. She felt the weight lifting. Yusuke had landed one big punch on that thing. She scrambled up and got a good look at the creature.

"Ow…Ow…!" Yusuke was hopping around holding his fist. "Damn that thing! He's made of rock!"

"Baka Yusuke!" It was the smaller guy. He attacked it and his sword bounced off. Next thing she knew the thing vanished before her eyes and she felt a painful hit on her back. It sent her flying backwards, her eyes going out of focus with the pain. The creature had hit her.

_Shit…that thing moves fast as well. We're screwed._

Someone caught her. It was the gorgeous red head, "Hey handsome…name's Aya…saw where I drop my wand…? She managed to grin at him and gave herself a good pat in the back for not slurring her words.

"Over there…" he pointed. He was distracted by the new demon arrival. She could tell from looking in his eyes that his mind was working hard. _Gorgeous eyes…green with flecks of gold…Lovely mouth. _She leaned forward and French kissed him, sneaking in a grope.

"Thanks gorgeous. Impressive wand by the way."

Kurama jerked back in surprise.

_/Now can we get back to the action? She's obviously not hurt/_

Kurama gave Youko the mental equivalent of sticking his tongue out petulantly.

-

-

-

**8**

**7**

**6**

Ron glanced at his coin…it was counting down to 1…and then…_Protego_…_God I hope it works._ A demon that looked like a boulder was barreling towards them.

_"Impedimenta!"_

The demon froze in its tracks, straining against the spell's effects. Hermione had stopped it just inches away from crushing him.

_God I love you Hermione!_

_Wait…did he just say…_

**5**

**4**

"Yusuke! Do you remember how I defeated Genbu?"

"Oh yeah! Thanks for the tip, Kurama!"

Yusuke punched the demon between his legs then yelped, "His balls are rock hard too!"

"Yusuke!" Botan yelled disapprovingly as her oar doubled as a club.

"Oh 'fer chrissakes…!"

Hiei blurred past and buried his sword into the creature's mouth.

**3**

**2**

"Baka." Hiei snorted at Yusuke.

"Eww…so you mean…?" Yusuke looked green at the thought. So did Botan. "Cripes…I so don't want to know how they do it…" he shuddered.

**_1_**

**_Protego_**

Wands flared with power and the shield started closing…repairing itself. It was now a race not to get caught on the wrong side of the shield when it closed. The demons howled their frustration. They had thought the prey was easy. The train whistled defiantly, sensing its passengers will.

And something else stirred…

Something that wasn't of demon origin…

The Rei Tantei had sensed it at the beginning of the ride…but had dismissed it. Sensing what it was exactly was similar to trying to catch an image fluttering at the corner of your eyes but upon turning to see it have it disappear. Aya grabbed a student and shoved him back down the cab and off the roof, tensing as what she sense was growing stronger. She was wrong…it wasn't that something was coming…it was already here…and it was growing stronger. _Maja__…Goddess…a true…Maja is here…? Hadn't they died a long time ago?_

Kurama turned to look at Hiei. The fire demon's eyes was clouded, confused. Hermione grabbed him by the sleeve, tugging him inside. The shield opening was closing rapidly.

"What are you waiting for! Get inside!" she yelled at him.

Things suddenly clicked. He grabbed her wrist and sniffed much to her surprise.

"So that's what I smelled…"

"What…?"

The power surged…crashing over them with the force of a tidal wave, driving them to their knees. Screams of terror from the demons outside as this new force started to destroy them. Kurama could sense the frayed lines eagerly suck this new energy source and whatever it was that was sending out this incredible energy was more than happy to feed it.

And then the light became too bright to see anything clearly. Kurama felt it sear his bones…the pain was familiar…somehow…

_Holy...light…_

He heard Hermione's startled cry, "The….cards…! Oh no…!"

He blinked…fighting through the magic induced haze and dimly heard the sound of cards fluttering.

He noticed that Hiei's eyes were bright. So was Yusuke's…hell everyone of them was. It was like all of a sudden they were connected to one gigantic energy source- but they couldn't access it…

_Like having the ocean waves surge around you…._

The train lurched underneath their feet. It let out another triumphant whistle and burst through the other side of the world with a roar. Through the broken walls Kurama could see the barrier mending…closing…sucking in back all the things that were not supposed to be in this world…

_…And the last cab dropping off…._

He grabbed his whip, retracted the thorns and threw it out towards the lagging cab before it got sucked in far enough for them to be able to do anything about it. Aya, who was there, grabbed the other end and tied it securely on a part of the cab. He felt the strain on his back and shoulders as he struggled to hold on long enough to get the students out of there. And then the ocean waves were no longer surging over him but through him, filling him with energy and strength that he needed to hold on without turning into his demon form.

"Get…them out…!" he snarled. He sensed Kuwabara grabbing the whip and helping him hang on.

Able bodied students apparated and even Yusuke and Hiei helped to evacuate the trapped students by using their speed. They could explain that later…_most likely he would do the explaining._

Aya came on board last, "Let go dear…we got them…"

He heard the students let out a triumphant cheer and Hermione's upset cry at losing the cards.

He nodded at Aya and passed out in her arms.

-

-

-

**TBC**

* * *

**A/N:** I love the train…for some reason…I just found him cute. I mean no one ever mentions if the train has a driver right? And it only makes sense that it should be enchanted as well.

* * *


	20. Rag All Night Long

**DISCLAIMER: **CCS belong to Clamp. HP belongs to J.K. Rowlings. YYH belongs to Togashi. YnM belongs to…gah…I forgot…Minekura no wait…I think she's from Saiyuki_ (is confuse) _Yoko Matsushita! Yes! Thanks for the quick SMS AyaOCs belong to their respective owners:

Aya Shinimori – Dragon Lady Supreme

Nefertiti – Inknamida/ Sammy/ Kia (combined your descriptions-this character is quite popular )

Raul Quetzecoatl – Metal Dragoon

Zshar-ptitsa – Shiranai Seito (I made a few changes to your submission. Hope you don't mind.)

Ashlar – mine along with Miriya and Cray.

Cameos – the reviewers, XP Because I suck in giving names.

Actually that still leaves 2 more OCs open for submission. If anyone is still interested. To those that submitted but weren't chosen, I'm sorry but you either didn't give enough backgrounds for you characters or I couldn't fit your characters in the plot. Perhaps in the next Chaos Chronicles arc.

* * *

**WARNING: **Extremely long chapter with minor spoilers in the HP:6. No plot spoilers (I think). Just some terms which you might encounter in HP:6

* * *

**WORD WATCH:**

Inferi – similar to zombies

Dementor – Get your HP book copy now! Email author or google it. XP

Thestrals – See Dementor :P

* * *

**Chapter 19: Rag All Night Long**

-

-

-

"Lumos."

His wand flared to life and he descended down the enormous staircase that seemed to be made for giants rather than humans. He was 10 years old when he first read about this place. He was 16 when he found it finally.

Xanadu.

The Summer Palace of the First.

_Who would have thought to look for it in the frozen north? _

It was tucked between Europe and Asia, hidden in the depths of the mountain ranges that divided the continents. He'd killed many a wizard to get the knowledge he needed to piece the ancient scripts together. A simple but ultimately valuable mistranslation had cost the historians their lives and ultimately the discovery of Xanadu. It was a broken piece of clay tablet. They had dismissed it as a muggle artifact but it had revealed its true nature to him and him alone.

_But that was to be expected. He was the Greatest of all the Magi-The __Chosen_

His wand flickered then died as he reached the bottom of the stairwell. He'd come to the Sacred Tomb. Deep beneath Xanadu's great stone walls and edifices is the Dead Zone. Here, all magic ceased. The very air was heavy and oppressive and no living thing could thrive underneath it. None could bear enter Xanadu's shadows save him and none could enter her depths and not be driven insane with the terror.

_But he was terror himself, was he not? For none could say his name out loud without fear._

Except...

_Bah. He will deal with the miscreants in due time._

He reached into his robes and brought out a match and lit the torch that he had left behind in his last trip down there. The torch blazed and he held it up to adjust his eyes to the new light. Gigantic stone pillars lay piled one on top of the other while even many others stayed up to keep the place from tumbling down. The flickering shadows played tricks to his eyes but the Nightmares that guarded the place no longer have any sway over him.

A form of magic created this Zone where no magic can be used. All to keep...

He walked forward, his foot kicking up dust till he came in front of megalith on top a massive stone stage accessible by a steep stair case-this time man-sized. It rose tall and proud, reaching up into the cavernous roof that he could barely see. It was 40 feet wide. An inwardly spiraling circle of runes, symbols, and characters were etched on its proud face. He reached out to touch the center of it with his palm, the dark jewel woven into the fine silver and gold webbing that he wore on his hand making contact with the stone. He was instantly repelled-thrown backward violently and nearly falling down the stairs. He picked himself up and dusted his robes before reaching for the flickering torch.

"Soon...soon I will have the power that you hold. I will be the new Lord of the Beginnings," he declared to the stone face.

The circle faded back and became no more than etchings again. Voldemort looked at his hand and the jewel that had touched the stone. It was glowing slightly before fading as well. A feral smile spread over his gaunt face as new energy surged to his body.

No magic may be used here...but Xanadu was willing to feed her Chosen One with the power he needed to do what he must to free her secrets so he could have them for himself. Until then, Xanadu will give him no more and no less than what he requires. But no matter, even that pittance was more than enough to destroy those who get in his way.

But first...to deal with the idiots who served him inadequately today...

He fisted his hand and returned the jewel in his pocket before marching back up the stairwell.

_Someone will pay dearly for their incompetence..._

-

-

-

Hagrid paced back and forth as he struggled not to chew on his umbrella in his worrying. Tonks watched him and sighed then resumed watching for the train to appear on the horizon. The Express was late. The half-giant had sent out a message when he didn't catch sight of the train at the appointed time. When after 10 messages from Hagrid came (he was sending out messages via his woodland friends every minute that passed by and he hadn't seen the train), Hogwarts faculty started to worry. 5 more messages and here she was in the company of a worried half-giant. She couldn't help but worry herself too. 30 minutes had passed and still no train. It was getting darker and darker by the minute.

"Now come on Hagrid...worrying yourself like that won't do us any good," she tried to keep her voice cheerful except she herself wasn't buying what she said.

"But what do you think..."

Hagrid was interrupted by a happy sounding whistle. They both scrambled up and leaned forward to catch a glimpse of the source. The Express was chugging its way to the station. Students waved at them from the windows.

"Oh thank god..." she started to say when Hagrid interrupted.

"Is that blood on the Express...?"

"What!" she stared at the front grill and paled. It was plastered with blood and bits of gore. "Oh god, Hagrid..."

The sound of happy students reached their ears and it made their hairs stand on end as they finally saw the train's condition as it came closer. She was missing one coach and most of her walls had holes and one of the coach's roofs was torn off completely. Dark stains were on its polished wood frame and it didn't take much of a genius to figure out that it was from blood and yet the students were clearly happy.

They stood still and in shocked as the train rolled into a stop on the platform, letting out another happy whistle that it had arrived and had delivered her passengers all safe and sound.

"Oh man, that was neat!"

"Awesome!"

"Ooohhh...are all train rides that exciting!"

The students spilled out, newbies looking both excited or in shock while the older ones look weary and tired but still beaming. Their robes looked tattered and worn at places.

"Awww...man...I just got this all in silk from Madam Malkin's and now it's covered in ewww!"

"Did you see that cool stunt I made?"

"Stunt? I thought you just fell over because you were scared?"

"Hagrid! Hagrid!" a familiar voice called out.

"Tonks!"

Ron and Hermione ran up to the dumbfounded pair as the students milled around them, House leaders guiding newbies towards Hagrid who had temporarily forgotten his duties while the older students made off for the coaches. Some backed off as they saw the strange leathery dark horses for the first time.

"What the...?"

"Those are mighty strange looking horses..."

"But not as scary as that demon I dusted..."

"Great...we can see thestrals now," commented another morosely.

"Now I know why it's best not to see them..." another said dryly.

Hagrid and Tonks stared unbelievably at the students. A tug at Hagrid's sleeves made him look down.

"Oh Hagrid!" Hermione said excitedly. "You won't believe what happened!"

"Yeah," Ron said nodding. "We'll tell you all about it after we get the newbies all sorted out okay?"

It was only then that Hagrid remembered his duties.

"Oh yeah...First years...this way...this way. Follow me please," he started to shuffle towards the docks.

The first years stared at Ron and Hermione who nodded at them encouragingly before they followed the half-giant.

Tonks stared at the 2 levelly, "On the other hand...you will both tell me what happened while we are in the coach. Correct?"

Hermione nodded, "Of course. And it's okay. Everyone is okay, Tonks."

Ginny came up to them and nodded. "Yeah, my brother was cool." She smiled at Ron causing Ron to blush as Hermione beamed at him too.

"So hey..." a new voice popped up between them and a dark haired boy was grinning at Tonks. "Where do we exchange students go?" Yusuke asked.

-

-

-

Harry noticed that the car was slowing down and gave up trying to guess in which of Miriya's close fists the galleon was in. He looked out the window.

"Were here."

"Oooh...lemme see..." She peered out of the window, jostling him aside. He made a face at her. She stuck her tongue out at him. Harry laughed. Miriya was the closest thing he'd had to a younger sister. She had a certain quality on her, despite them knowing each other only a few weeks and the occasional seer trances that she got into, that made him look at her as his younger sister. She didn't mind and in fact loved calling him _unichan_-a word that he learned meant dear older brother in her Asian tongue.

Hogwarts rose up from the hills, proud and stately. Fireworks lit up the night. That meant the students have arrived.

"Oh...I guess they are safe after all...I don't think Dumbledore would light up the fireworks if they were harmed."

"Unless it was sent as a warning. Did you know that a passing ship saw Titanic's fireworks and thought they were...?"

"Miriya..."

"Yes, unichan?" Wide, innocent grin.

"Thank you for making the knots in my stomach become tighter."

Yukito chuckled at their exchange.

"You're no help," Harry muttered dryly.

-

-

-

"Stop rocking the damn boat, Yusuke!"

"Kuwabara's afraid of getting wet."

"I am not!"

"Oh yeah?" Yusuke taunted then rocked the boat again.

"Yusuke!"

Aya watched them idly as her boat passed the arguing group by. She traced a hand lazily on the water.

"Uhm...are you sure that's wise to do that...?" Shuuichi asked her. He'd seen a gigantic shadow glide under their boats.

"Hmm? Yeah," she yawned sleepily and dozed till the arguing Rei Tantei on the other boat got on her nerves. "Awww shut up will ya!" she yelled causing everyone else to stare at them.

Kurama grinned and said as sweetly as he could, pointing ahead "Look everyone! Fireworks!"

As if on cue, the sky exploded into a rainbow of colors as Hogwarts greeted her new students. There was a collective sigh and gasps of admiration. Even Yusuke and Kuwabara had stopped their bickering. Hiei and Kurama exchange looks from opposite boats and sweat-dropped.

Shuuichi shook his head. Sometimes his brother's friends were more childish than some 10 year olds he knew.

-

-

-

The price for incompetence was a terrible one as the screams attested to everyone who heard it. Deatheaters shifted uneasily in their robes. Their Master had chosen a strange place for his lair. It was worst than Azkaban. A remnant of a long lost city deep within the mountains, its once proud stone edifices crumbling and in ruins. Anyone could see that magic built the place for no human contraption or ingenuity could have piled up those megaliths for its walls and pillars. As always, there was a strange chill in the place that had nothing to do with the altitude of the place-a kind of chill that crept in your bones and gave you goose bumps and cause you to look around uneasily for things that go bump in the dark. A sort of chill the Deatheaters know is worse than being faced with an inferi or being kissed by a dementor.

But far more bearable than what has been happening to the 2 fools, idiot enough to fail their Dark Lord.

"My lord...my lord," whimpered one man, half of his face burned away from the curse inflicted on him. "Give us...another chance..."

"Another...?"

The 2 men cringed.

"Tell me...what can you do that would make me change my mind?" he inquired mildly.

"The Heirs made it in Hogwarts..." the other managed to croak. His dark features had been spared the curse but his throat bear the marks of torture.

Voldemort waved his hand dismissively and the man screamed, trashing about wildly on the stone floor. The burned man burst into tears as he covered his ears so as not to hear his companion's screams.

"Now, now. Tell me something I don't already know," his voiced hissed coldly. The Heirs were coming to Hogwarts, had made it to Hogwarts safely. Something he had not expected. He had counted on the Families arrogance and pride. Divide and conquer. No matter. It seems only that the Families were finally acknowledging his superiority over them since now they were forced to band together. He started to laugh. The 2 men shrank farther, the laughter scarier than the shadows that lurked around them.

"Master..."

"Yes, Chez...?"

The man cowered, his burned face twisting in fear at the mention of his childhood nickname but forced himself to speak anyway.

"Genkai has sent her student."

"That old woman?" He laughed. "That old woman from Japan is nothing! Worst than Dumbledore."

"But..." the other one has recovered from the pain somewhat and managed to whisper, "She has sent more than just her student..."

"What!"

The 2 men looked at each other uneasily. Then Chez swallowed and turned to Lord Voldemort, "It was they who intervened on the Express-we do not know much about them. That...ignorance has made us miscalculate..."

"You mean your ignorance!"

The men trembled.

"Yes, milord...our...ignorance. We had dismissed the Asians as nothing but it was they who shut the breach in the barrier. They were more powerful than we expected."

Voldemort twirled a finger. He did not like to admit it but they were right. He too had sense the surge or magical energy that reminded him suspiciously of...

His hand curled around the jewel on the gold and silver webbing. It was worn like a glove, circling his wrist and the bases of his fingers, the jewel woven and held inside the palm side of his hand.

"Reed..." he snarled the name.

"Milord...?" Chez looked up to his master curiously.

Voldemort was eerily silent. _Onmyoujitsu again... Why does this form of magic keep hindering him?_ He had already collected the artifacts from the 4 Great Founders of Hogwarts and one from the House of Reed and still the Families refused to bow to him despite the power he already possessed. He had after all vanquished the House of Reed. _Nay...he will make them bow to him. Xanadu has chosen her new ruler and it was him!_

"Find me the source of onmyoujitsu's arrogance and perhaps I will spare you from your friend's fate."

Chez screamed as he watched his companion turned into an inferi.

-

-

-

Never has a sight been seen in all of Hogwart's great history.

**Traffic.**

Who would have guessed?

But there it was. Thestral drawn carriages jostling for space with limos, Cadillac and all manners of luxury vehicles.

Not magical vehicles. _Muggle luxury vehicles_.

Everyone stared.

Those who came from Wizarding families stared because they had never seen such muggle vehicles, while muggle-borns stared at how luxurious it was.

And the million galleon question in everyone's mind was-_'Who_ _were inside it?'_

Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape both stared in disbelief, temporarily forgetting the crowd that had gathered. Dumbledore had designated them both to meet with the students this year. The first years were already disembarking from their boats and making their way to the entrance creating more traffic as the older students paused in their steps curious to see who were inside the cars.

"Woah..." Yusuke halted in his tracks causing Botan to run into him.

Aya made a face, "Oh great...blue bloods. Just what we need. More stuck up people." She made her voice loud enough for Malfoy to overhear who glared at her. She stuck her tongue out at him.

Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes. _Had Dumbledore gone insane? It was bad enough that he allowed mudbloods into Hogwarts now he allowed for this...travesty! Damn muggle-lover!_

One by one the cars positioned themselves on Hogwarts expansive lawn. It was clear from the cars and their positioning that there were several groups. Men and women in expensive suits got out of the cars-their faces impassive but alert and watchful. A murmur rose up from the crowd of students. Fireworks still lit up the skies.

Only a lone white limo had no retinue around it.

-

-

-

Harry felt his throat gone dry. "I see what you mean about being under dressed," he said wryly as uniformed people glided to open the doors of the lead cars.

"Heh. Told you so."

"What happens if we don't impress them?"

"Depends, Harry-uni."

"What do you mean?" he turned to look at her.

"If you weren't the Chosen One they'd probably just dismiss you," she grinned. "No need for all the shebang though I would still insist on bringing my car really. Just not this one."

"Oh I hate the newspapers," he growled as their chauffer opened their door. He reached for his robes. She stopped him and shook her head.

"Miriya...did I tell you Snape has it in for me? I know he'd gleefully dock points from me if I don't wear my school robes."

"Oh shush. Trust me. It's only for now."

-

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Seven people emerged from the lead cars and walked towards the clearing purposely. As if on some unconscious level, the students had gathered away from the cars leaving a respectable open space between them. Yusuke, Kuwabara and Aya pushed their way in front of the crowd to get a better view. Except Kuwabara suddenly stumbled and his sudden flailing to recover his balance threw the rest of the _Rei Tantei_ out the crowd and into the clearing. Only Botan and Shuuichi were spared the embarrassment.

"I am going to kill you!" Hiei was up on Kuwabara's throat at once, springing up from where he was pushed face down the grass.

_"Itei..."_ Aya groaned, rubbing her head where the Kuwabaka had hit her on the head with one of his flailing foot.

"Well, excuse me..." Yusuke grumbled from underneath Aya. She had fallen on him and was sitting on his back.

Kurama sweat dropped while trying to separate Hiei and Kazuma, "Come on Hiei...it was an accident."

"Accident!" Hiei's voice sounded incredulous, "How the hell do you slip and fall like that on grass? GRASS!"

They suddenly noticed the silence and looked up. Everyone was looking at them.

Yusuke gave them his best goofy grin, "Ah, hehehe. Hi?"

The crowd parted and a man with stringy black hair and a face too pale for him was now standing in front of them, robes still swishing from his movement and now only just starting to settle down.

"What a disgraced! Is this what Asia have to offer for its students?" Snape scoffed at them.

"Is this what Hogwarts have to offer us?" a voice spoke up and Snape twirled around.

A young woman with a proud regal bearing strode towards the clearing. Her dark eyes swept her surroundings. She pushed back the white cowl on her head and revealed a beautiful face that would do a Veela proud and an equally beautiful dark skin, her long black hair hidden beneath her cloak, and golden Egyptian asp-shaped diadem on her head.

"It is no wonder this Voldemort had you all scared," she declared. It wasn't said in a haughty or proud manner. More like a matter of fact statement.

Everyone cringed at the mention of his name. Save of course the new comers.

McGonagall swept down the front steps and reprimanded the girl, "Nefertiti, here in Hogwarts-the students are taught respect to their teachers."

"Like you taught Tom Riddle?" a new voice spoke up. This time masculine. He was about 5' 7". His skin a shade of red that told of his ancestry. Tattoos and piercing adorned his body from what his tattered sleeve shirt showed. A feather earring dangled on one ear. He wrinkled his nose at the attendants sent to accompany him. He didn't like all the pomp and circumstance. In his opinion, the Chief was just probably making sure he went and not skipped off.

"_Pucha_," Nefertiti thumbed her nose at him.

"Frigid," Raul answered back and was more than pleased to see her eyes flare in anger.

The 2 glared at each other icily.

"Oh this is fun," Aya clapped gleefully.

"Sure it is," Yusuke agreed. "When are you getting off my back anyway?"

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Miriya watched the exchange between the 2 before she nudge Harry out the car.

"Okay...time to make your entrance, Chosen One," she grinned at him.

"Stop calling me that."

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No one noticed his appearance save for Hermione and Ron who were off and running towards him as soon as he made his way towards the clearing, planning to slink by the sides and join the gaggle of students before being noticed. The hairs on the back of his neck were prickling. From the looks of some students, Snape and McGonagall; they noticed it too.

Magic.

No.

_Onmyoujitsu. _

Restrained but straining beneath the surface. He looked at the new comers and Miriya. She was calm and smiling at him but he knew better. Staying in that manor had made him more sensitive to certain nuances of magic. He saw Yukito stand beside Miriya just before Ron and Hermione bowled him over, yelling how happy they were to see him. Several DA members were making their way to him too.

And then suddenly he felt the minute flex in the magical lines seconds before the ground in front of them erupted into a rain of pebbles.

Surprised screams came from the crowd but he instinctively knew that nothing was going to happen. He hadn't realized that he had placed himself in front of his friends and that Ron and Hermione had their wands out defensively-though it was only after the ground blew up in a mini explosion. He wondered why they weren't hurt and he looked up to see why.

The magic had resumed its normal even hum.

In front of him, Miriya was standing just as regally as Nefertiti, the rain of pebbles falling a few feet away from them. He hadn't even seen her move. _Did she just apparate? No wait. One can't apparate in Hogwart's grounds. But then again...these people were waaay different. Could they be powerful enough to break Hogwart's no apparating rules? _

He stopped that line of thinking. He was going to end up scaring himself if he kept that up.

He noticed she was staring at another boy. Harry's eyes widened at the sight of him. The boy was...huge but there was no mistaking the youthful face. That face was currently passive.

"Hey...! That's...that's...her!"

"Yes. Thank you for stating the obvious, Kazuma," Kurama said through gritted teeth. He'd seen her move fast enough to stop the attack rendering it useless with one of her shields.

Ashlar, the biggest in the group of newcomers, gave a deep rumbling laugh, "If he is the Chosen One let him defend himself!"

Harry was irked, "Stop calling me that!"

Malfoy didn't like the whole thing at all. First the train, now this. _Who were these people!_

"Well what do you know? The Dragon's _pucha_ is here too," a gorgeous red head with blue eyes stared at Miriya disdainfully.

Harry saw Miriya's face change for a moment then become passive again- the sudden emotion that the statement elicited now gone.

Severus Snape had enough.

"Everyone! Inside the castle. Now!" he ordered. The students turned to obey him. The newcomers stared at each other warily. McGonagall was shooing the students inside the castle. Several teachers had come out to help. They had been curious as to the cause of the delay. Unseen eyes from the Forbidden forest watched the scene.

Snape turned back to the newcomers and said scathingly, "Are the Heirs in need of baby sitters and attendants?" His eyes slid over the escorts. "I thought you were all a proud and powerful lot?"

"We are," Raul said gravely, his eyes level with the professor's.

Harry felt the prickling in the magical lines again. Miriya and Yukito hadn't said anything yet. Nor did the others-they were staring at the Professor and the tattooed teen. The air was still tense.

Yusuke had manage to extricate himself from where Aya was gleefully sitting on him and said loudly, "Oh stop the formalities! I bet you all are just dying to know how much power the other has huh?"

"Yusuke..." Kurama hissed a warning to his friend.

But Yusuke went on," Yeah I know you all are. I can feel it too. All this testing to see who is more powerful than who...well you know what...?"

_/What the hell are you doing/_ Hiei yelled inside Yusuke's head.

"I've never been good for formalities and ever since that train ride I'd been itching to just..." and with that, Yusuke let his aura blazed, enough to release the tension of keeping it in but not enough to reveal exactly who he was. "Hah! That feels better!"

Harry felt the lines turn into a large wave. It swept over them in a gentle flow but the energy of it just about floored him. _This was magic...in its pure form...and they could do it without wands or words! _

Malfoy was staring, his jaw open in amazement.

Yusuke turned to Miriya and grinned, "I think you and I have a score to settle."

Miriya grinned back, "Sorry...I don't remember much except your friend attacked me." Her eyes slid to Kurama-dislike evident in them.

Harry could see that her aura was slowly getting visible, hovering then winking out as if she was controlling it and slowly letting it loose.

Kurama sniffed," And who was it that trapped me inside the _maboroshi_?"

Yukito stepped forward and said good naturedly," Lady Miriya had no intentions of trapping anyone."

"Cut the chit-chat. Let's get to know each other the way we want too," Yusuke beamed happily, cracking his knuckles, his aura now brighter and curling tightly around him. "We're fighters. I can see that now. We have our own ways and it's not the one so-called polite society imposes on us!"

The newcomers eyed each other and slow grins appeared on their faces. One by one Harry could see them starting to glow. They were done playing by proper court etiquette.

"Ladies first," Yusuke did an extravagant bow at Miriya.

"Aw, cut the crap I want to know how strong big boy is!" and without further ado Aya was off, attacking Ashlar, spear on hand.

"You as frigid as I think you are?" Raul smirked at Nefertiti, his battle aura swirling round him.

She smiled back icily, her own aura on fire, "Why don't you come and find out?"

_Onmyoujitsu_ flared up happily, no longer bound by its wielders as the newcomers tested each other's strength. House against House. Heir against Heir. Testing each other's superiority.

Harry felt the sudden heady rush in his head as the magic flowed around him and watched dazedly as the dark haired Asian rushed Miriya, fist drawn back. He saw her evade his attack. Beside him he heard students gasp in amazement then turned into eager viewers. He overheard Ron gloat to Malfoy, "Still think Asians are pansies? Eh?" Malfoy's response was lost as the combatants duke it out and the crowd started to play favorites despite the teacher's efforts to instill order. Strangely enough the Heir's attendants merely eyed each other warily.

_Probably waiting who would be stupid enough to make the first move._

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone froze.

Snape had magnified his voice to be heard. Behind him, at the top of the steps was Dumbledore, small twigs still on his beard as if he had made his way from the forest.

"Now, now..." Dumbledore cleared his throat and brushed his beard clean as all attention was now on him. "I can assure you that there will be plenty of activities in Hogwarts for you to expend your extra energy...but as of now...I believe everyone is hungry?" He smiled at them all benevolently and for the first time, Harry could detect the low even throb of energy from Dumbledore-contained but very powerful. So much the same as Eriol's in his unguarded moments. _Or was that intentional from Eriol's part to let him sense it?_

He could tell the Heirs felt it too and stopped. They respected that strength despite being powerful in their own rights.

No wonder Voldemort was afraid of Dumbledore.

The sudden silence was only broken when someone's stomach grumbled loudly at the late dinner.

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**TBC **

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**KoHi: **Arigatou for Dragon Lady Supreme for kicking my butt from time to time and helped me push the story forward. Work has far too many interruptions and though I dearly wished to just lounge around-such is not possible unless I become a bum and so will have no money for the net. Also, many thanks for Kaeru Soyokazefor correcting me about Genbu and Byakku in the previous chapters. 

Thank you for everyone's support as well. 348 story hits since I started updating again after so long. It may not be much compared to other writers but I still am bowled over by it. Thank you.

Apologies for not being able to review the works of some of my friends. You have to understand that I barely have enough time to squeeze in my own story. Still I show my support in your endeavors by reading and promoting them every time I could. And of course reviewing whenever I can.

Review replies will be updated in my blog. See profile for the link. Thankies! Enjoy.

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	21. That Night

**DISCLAIMER: **This is getting tiresome…it should be obvious by know who or what is owned by whom. And yes-Dragon Lady Supreme (also known as Aya) is now officially my co-author. She does a mean butt-kicking when I deserve it. T.T

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_No warnings. No word watch. I'm freeeeeeeee!_

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**Chapter 20: That Night...**

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It took a while for Tatsumi to make it to Hogwarts. Useless meetings had held him up at Annwn. He hadn't made any progress with regards to the red tape. The European shinigami's didn't trust the Eastern branch. Had in fact accused them of helping the renegade wizard Reed from escaping their clutches. Never mind if the JuOh Cho had nothing to do about it. Yes... Reed did travel in Asia, but Reed didn't die... Well not in the normal conventional way. Reed simply just... vanished. Even the Count was at lost to explain it, and he usually remembered all the candles in his hall.

The Olden Gods could not be found; appearing only on All Hallow's Eve, for their Hunt and then disappearing; leaving their servants to keep order. Calling them usually meant someone was about to become part of the Hunt...as prey. So it was understandable that everyone was reticent at meeting them. As well as loathing to report anything was wrong.

Well, it won't be long before the Olden Gods and Goddesses wake from their slumber long before the Great Hunt, considering the current mess. And to say that they won't be pleased would be putting it very mildly.

_Maybe it was because mortals in the West do not believe in Gods and Goddesses anymore...? _

_Maybe it was because they had cease believing at all...?_

Whatever the reason... the Old Ones no longer rouse themselves except to hunt the souls that wander during All Hallow's Eve when the boundaries where weakest.

He hurried up to the teacher's entrance that led to the banquet hall, his robe slung carelessly on one arm, his chi carefully subdued so no one would be the wiser... Especially the ghosts who might scatter after finding out that Death was in their midst, never mind if they were not the one's he was intent on collecting.

Let the arawns squabble among themselves. He will do what he was sent too. The restoration of the Commandments took precedence over jurisdiction and areas of responsibility.

_I hope Tsuzuki and the others won't make such a mess while I'm gone..._

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"Achoo!"

Tsuzuki wriggled his nose and sniffled. "Someone is probably thinking of me," he said brightly, running a hand through messy black hair.

"Right," was the grumpy reply of his morose companion. "Could you be any nosier than that?"

"Ne, 'Soka...why do you think Touda ran off on me?"

"Probably had enough of you."

"Don't be mean."

"Stop whining and let's follow that woman!" Hisoka snapped, trying to keep his voice down. He'd seen the professor leave with some old scrolls from the restricted area of the museum.

"Hey wait a minute...didn't someone else collect and process her already...?"

A resigned sigh from his smaller companion.

"When will you ever start reading the reports, you idiot..."

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"We refused to be sorted into the Houses," Zshar declared proudly after the first years were done sorted and it was their turn. "I belong to the House of the Great Firebird. I was named for it! I will not mingle with the Houses of the Badger, the Raven, the Snake or the Griffin!"

"Fine," Snape waved his hand dismissively. "The grounds near the Forbidden Forest are free for you. Make yourself comfortable there."

"But," Dumbledore hastened to add, a benevolent smile and twinkle in his eyes as he addressed her mildly. "I trust, my dear, you will stay away from the Forbidden Forest unless supervised by one of the teachers...?"

The Heirs were grumpily silent. Some students giggled. The ghosts floated around minding their own business. Peeves for once was not being his usual annoying poltergeist self. Most likely decided, after seeing the initial meeting of the newcomers, that anyone of them could blast him to kingdom come if he annoys them.

Yusuke broke the silence by stepping forward and rubbing his hands eagerly," I don't see what the big deal is...I put on funny hat, hat tells me where I stay, sleep and eat right? No biggie."

"The hat is NOT funny," the hat said grumpily at him, eliciting a few chuckles from the hall and a few ghosts.

"Old then...?" Yusuke offered just before putting it on his head.

"Bah, you're Gryffindor," it said. Mildly bit irked at Yusuke.

Gryffindor's table erupted into applause. They'd seen how he fought on the train.

"Say Harry," Ron nudged him by his side. "I think he'd make a great Beater... You should see him when we got attacked on the train."

Harry turned to Ron, "Speaking of which...When will you tell me what happened?"

"Tonight?"

The short dark haired boy with a fearsome look was in Ravenclaw. The tall goofy-carrot top was in Gryffindor. And the handsome red head-Slytherin. Much to Hermione and Ginny's dismay.

Harry and Ron harrumphed.

"I never trusted him," Ron said smugly. "Told you he'd be Slytherin." He nodded wisely, secure in his knowledge.

Ginny turned to him and rolled her eyes, "You don't trust anyone better looking than you."

"Hey!"

"Look Ginny..." Harry thought he'd butt in before it turned into a full blown sibling argument. That and the fact that Ginny found the newcomer good looking weren't sitting well on him. "I think the hat knows something we don't since he was placed in Slytherin..."

"Not all Slytherin people are bad," Hermione said.

"Oh yeah?" Ron and Harry said together.

"How do you know?" Ron shot back.

"I dated one last year," Ginny said matter of factly.

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"Slytherin!"

Miriya placed the hat down and glanced to where Harry and the others were looking at her in shock. She waved at them and sat down as far away as that red head as she could. She didn't like the way he was looking at her.

_Wonderful. First the Heirs treating me as Pucha...now that...that...insufferable...arrrghhh!_

The mere thought of what she'd almost let him do that night filled her with anger.

Draco couldn't hide a grin when he learned that Harry's new friend was with them. He'll have her on his side soon enough. He ignored the sudden tightening grip on his arm by Pansy. This new girl with her dark eyes and hair was easily one of the best looking girls in the school. He turned his gaze to the Egyptian and Russian girls.

All beautiful. All powerful. Noble blood. Pure-blood. Perfect

If he could turn them to his side...

"Ow...Pansy!...You're cutting of the circulation!" He snapped at Parkinson who muttered something and frowned.

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Raul was next. He was in Ravenclaw. Ashlar...surprisingly enough, was in Hufflepuff. There were muffled titters and surprised gasps. His size was still intimidating after all never mind if the hat placed him at Hufflepuff. And the scene of him breaking up the ground with his fist sort of stuck in everyone's mind.

Miriya felt a twisting stabbing feeling in her heart when she realized... the 7 Houses would not be complete this time. The Heir of the Dragon Clan was not here...

_No! He is not dead! I would know it if he was!_

"Slytherin!"

The tallest of the newcomers made their way on their table, giving the red head a flirtatious smile. Miriya wasn't sure if she should like this one or be wary. This girl, Aya, smelled of dried old blood for some reason. And glancing at the red head, he smelled it too.

She groaned inside when Nefertiti and Zshar were placed in Slytherin too. It was something she expected as much. Salazar Slytherin had this thing for purebloods...particularly proud ones. No way would he let those two go to some other House. She was neither...so it must be...

_No...Best not to think about Her. _

Yukito was Slytherin too.

Of course... Yue... makes sense. That, and Yue vowed to stay with her. A promise long made. She didn't hold him to that promise he made long ago with Reed. But Yue being Yue...and Yukito being ...Yukito...

She missed Cray...missed him so much.

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Dumbledore stood up, quite please at how things turned out despite the snags.

"Welcome everyone to Hogwarts. Hogwarts also welcomes the members of the 7 Houses...yes Nefertiti...7...no not 6...7...no I am not a senile old man," he said bemusedly despite the girl's annoyed telepathy, which earned puzzled looks at some of the students who didn't know any better. "Yes dear I can count... now Mr. Filch here as a lists of banned objects which will be posted in the prominent areas for your perusal. The Forbidden Forests are still forbidden after dark. All students are required to stay indoors, and report if they have any plans to go outside for safety reasons. Oh dear...before I continue with the matters at hand...dinner has been delayed long enough isn't it? Very well then, tuck in."

A clap of his hands and the banquet magically appeared on the tables which the students eagerly devoured.

Neville turned to Harry in between bites, "So what's the deal with these Houses thing? And why weren't you on the train?"

"Yeah Harry," another Gryffindor chimed in. "Who's the girl and why are you with her?"

"Cho didn't look too pleased," someone observed, "when she saw you with her..."

Harry squirmed. Cho Chang was still a touchy subject for him. He could feel Hermione's and Ginny's eyes bore down on him at the mention of her name.

"It's nothing... Her name is Miriya..." he mumbled, taking a big mouthful of the steak in front of him. "She's nice. Yukito too, so I don't know why they were placed at Slytherin."

"Yup," Ron piped up. "We stayed at their place. Boy, was that place HUGE!"

…And he launched into very detailed descriptions of the manor and what it was like staying there leaving Harry to eat in peace. Harry watched how Ron seemed more... confident? _What did happen at that train ride...?_

He half-listened to Hermione explaining to someone else what the Houses were and their significance. After all they were probably going to take it up in their classes..._Crap..._

_Classes... Their OWLS..._

He hadn't peeked into his results yet when he got it...too afraid to want to know his grades. He hadn't exactly finished it when he took the tests. He'd consider opening it in the car on the way to Hogwarts and Miriya had bugged him about it but he found other reasons not to. Now...he had no choice but to look at it...

_Tonight...just before bed...I'll look at it. No sense spoiling dinner._

He noticed how someone he hadn't seen before stand at the side of the teacher's place just putting on his robes and then taking his place with one of those vacant chairs. The man was tall, with brown hair and wore glasses. He nodded at Dumbledore who smiled back and gestured him towards an empty chair.

_New teacher for the DADA?_

It was the only vacancy anyway. He actually felt sorry for the man. The position for the DADA was cursed as far as anyone knows. No teacher ever lasted to the 2nd year teaching DADA. They either die, go insane, missing, or turn furry. Harry smirked at himself. _Well at least it's another year that Snape got denied the position he so coveted._

Dinner was done. The house elves took care of everything. Dumbledore stood up again. His manner this time was different and the hall was quiet save for him speaking.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. As you are all aware... The Dark Lord is back." Gasps from some of the students. Allowing the student's surprise to quell once more, the wise wizard continued. "But do not despair. As long as you stay within Hogwarts, and adhere to the rules, you will be safe. There are several security measures taken by the Hogwarts staff and faculty to ensure you are away from harm. You are all perhaps wondering what happened on the way here. "

Murmurs of agreement.

"We apologize for not being adequately prepared for that..."

Harry broke his attention off as he saw a lithe figure ascend to the table and take her place on one of the last 2 empty chairs-his eyes widening in surprise.

"It is something your teachers will explain to you later in class and we are immensely glad that you all have survived it and fought well. It is because of that, that we have Hope, knowing that the Dark Lord and his kind will not prevail over us."

This time there was an undercurrent of unease at his words as people were either sure of which side they were on in the fight, straddling both fences or not sure which side to pick.

Dumbledore continued nevertheless.

"These are interesting times we lived in and as such, us magic users must learn from each other and learn cooperation and fellowship to best protect ourselves. The 7 Houses of Men, 4 of which built our noble school, are all that is left of the 12 Houses of Men. The Heirs are here to show us the forgotten ways of how magic used to be use. And though not all Heirs are family by Blood...they are family by their magical lines that they were descended from," he turned to Nefertiti. "And that is why I say 7 Houses and not 6 by your count."

Raul snickered. He was Heir simply because he had the magic of the Family that found and raised him. The tribal elders weren't very happy of course that a foundling was Heir but they had no choice. And it pleased him to annoy Nefertiti who called him _pucha._ The late Dragon Clan's girlfriend didn't count as one of the Houses but at least that one had magic-and from the looks of it when they dueled outside-could hold her own against them. Maybe that's why the Dragon Heir was so taken to her. He'd befriend Miriya just to annoy the other Heirs.

"Before we call this a night, and you all can rightfully rest for tomorrow's classes, I will introduce to you 3 new teachers."

_Three!_

Harry looked back at the table at the smiling woman seated there who was looking at him benevolently.

"May I introduce the new teacher for the History of Magic- a fine gentleman from Japan. Mr. Tat-"

"Aaaaahhhh! Tatsumi-sannnn!"

Everyone turned to Kazuma who was gaping at the new teacher. Tatsumi winced.

"Nooooo..." Kazuma slumped back into his seats. "Just our luck... He's tough, tough I tell you..."

The students look frightened. The previous teacher-albeit a ghost-was understandably boring but at least wasn't tough on them. The new one could be a headache.

Dumbledore laughed, "I see...well his name is Tatsumi Seiichiro and considering the reaction of his charge...we don't have to worry about favoritism among students eh?"

Yusuke grimaced and muttered to no one in particular, "Trust me, you don't want to be his favorite." He was remembering their crash course on western magic.

Tatsumi glared at Kuwabara. The boy visibly wilted.

"As for the new Defense of the Dark Arts...we have here the lovely Mizuki Kaho..."

"Noooo..!" it was Harry and Ron's turn to embarrass themselves.

"Errr..." Ron looked around sheepishly and sank under the seats, red as a tomato.

Mizuki just smiled at them.

"She will be teaching in tandem with Professor Snape..."

"WHAT!"

Hermione and Ron had to tug Harry back down his seat. Snape smirked at Harry. Hermione whispered to Harry, "Look, you keep saying they pack some pretty mean magic. Maybe Ms. Kaho will break that DADA curse."

"I hope so," Harry muttered. He liked Mizuki. Her kind smiles and the way she treated him-much like the way she treated Miriya...and the way Miriya looked at him... It was almost like being part of a family-no…that wasn't right…it felt like they were HIS family...Of course he had nothing against Mrs. Weasely, but she had several kids already and even though she treated him like one of her own it was still difficult for him to see or feel like she was his mom. Aunt rather…but with Mizuki...

"Oh dear...", Dumbledore looked around interrupting Harry's thoughts. "Our new Potions teacher seem to be..."

The door at the end burst open and a frazzled looking young man, his clothes wet and sticking to him, stumbled in.

"Sorry, I got held up... Damn chess game... Then freak thunderstorm," Touya made his way to the teacher's table, oblivious to the stares, wringing the edges of his clothes dry.

Ron groaned to Harry, "I hope he's not going to take it out on me what my brothers did to him a few days ago."

Hermione grinned," I don't think he's the type to hold grudges... I think."

Ron whimpered.

"Yes...this is Touya Kinimoto-also from Japan. If you noticed...we have some Asian teachers who will be teaching us how things are done in the East. We hope you will learn what they will teach you and use what you learned wisely. And now dear students, newcomers and teachers alike-the day is done. Let's all rest for tomorrow. Prefects already have the passwords for your respective apartments so please follow them and try not to get lost. Oh yes... Filch says that the East Wing of the castle is forbidden. Toodles everyone! And have a good night's sleep."

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Yusuke came up to Ron and Hermione as they were herding the first years in line. "So, where do we go?" he asked brightly.

Kazuma swatted a ghost that went through him, making a face as the feeling was akin to going through a cold flimsy web that sunk to your bones. Harry laughed as he saw the expression.

"Yeah...I hate it when they do that," he offered his hand." My name is Harry. Welcome to Gryffindor."

Kazuma shook it, "Ewwww...they do that often?"

"Usually to annoy you."

"Nobody collects them or something?"

Yusuke stomped on Kuwabara's foot.

"OW! Yusuke!"

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Miriya looked around for Harry. She wanted to bid him good night first before joining the rest of the Slytherin. She found him laughing with the 2 boys-both the Slytherin red head's companion. Now was not yet the time to tell Harry about that night. But if those 2 told him first-she was fine with that too.

"Harry..."

"Miriya," he excused himself from the group.

"Hey... you doing okay?" she asked him. He'd seen his look when she went to Slytherin.

"Yes, and you are...? " he looked worried at her. "You're in Slytherin...I'd wanted you to be in Gryffindor."

"Slytherin isn't a bad House. It's the people in it that gave it a bad name."

"You could have chosen Gryffindor," he chided her.

"I know, but I was curious where I would be place if I don't choose. Look, its okay uni," she smiled at him.

He patted her head, " Well fine...but I still don't like Malfoy."

"She'll be okay," Yukito said, smiling.

"Night uni-chan..."

"Good night sister...and if Draco bugs you tell me so I'll smack him for it," he added the last phrase in a whisper.

"I think I can take care of that when that happens," she laughed.

"Yeah but I'd still like to do it myself," he stuck his tongue out at her playfully.

"Hiirigazawa...what are you doing with a Gryffindor?" a snotty voice said.

"Saying goodnight to my brother, Mr. Malfoy. Oh, gotta go uni...Prefect might get impatient."

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Hiei and Raul eyed each other warily as they made their way to the Ravenclaw tower. Both weren't so sure how to address the other. Both aware that both had great power. Both tried not to seriously tripped on the treacherous staircase because that would make them look stupid. Not the image they were trying to project to each other.

On the Hufflepuff area, Botan had managed to strike up with a conversation with the big guy Ashlar who was trying to squeeze in through portrait hole which was their entrance."

"Erhm...try going in head first...?" Botan offered helpfully after pulling Ashlar unstuck from the hole where they'd held up the line.

"We could always use some sort of lube," someone snerked.

Meanwhile on the Slytherin Tower...

"Shinimori...that's the boys' area!" Pansy looked scandalized as Aya tried to make her way to the boys' area.

"Aw phish...like you didn't want to go there yourself and take a peek."

There were scandalized murmurs at what they considered inappropriate behavior for ladies. Aya ignored them and found her bed. A twitch on the magical lines made her turn around. Zshar and Nefertiti were busy weaving protection spells on their beds and stuff. She felt eyes on her and turned to the girl Miriya who was looking at her amused from her bed beside hers.

"Don't look like that Aya..." she smiled. "Any bets you'd be doing that too?"

"Heh…Like you won't?"

Miriya shrugged, "We're a paranoid lot."

"You got that right," her fingers danced on the bed posts, drawing magical symbols for her spells, however of a slightly different manner than the others. The other two, Zshar and Nefertiti, held the spells from their native lands, but Aya held that from a different branch of well known magic.

One by one Hogwarts, her teachers, and her students settled in for the night. Tonight, there would at least be peace.

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**TBC**

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**KoHi: **I think the next chapter will take awhile…that would be the first day of classes in Hogwarts. No, it's not writer's block It's audits. The schedule has been released for this year. Which means…I gotta get cracking for it if I don't want to be assessed as a slacker. I'll try to finish all the preparations as fast as I can so that I can get Chapter 21 out. It's bouncing around in my head so writing it should be easy. (_crosses her fingers_) Wish me luck, _minna-san!_ I want to win this year's audit too like last time.

**Dragon Lady:** Cool…let's get cracking! (_cracks her knuckles and chuckles evilly_)

**KoHi:** Ow…. --;;; _Mommy…._

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	22. First Day Funk

**DISCLAIMER:** Aya has an excellent grasp of legalese speak which is displayed on her fanfic on this site. A side fic for Chaos Chronicles. One of its characters. The lovable Aya_ (grins)_ **http:www!fanfiction!net#s#2583908#1#** Just replace the # with the proper slash, and the ! with a period.

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**KoHi:** Waiii! Our first CC chapter written by both Dragon Lady and me! My beta reader turned co-authoress _(goes to poke DL) Go on…introduce yourself!_

**DL:** …..

**KoHi:** But…but what about what we talked in YM? _(whines)_

**DL:** Hellooooo….

**KoHi:** That's it? _(looks incredulous)_ What happened to the hyperness and stuff? I should be the one keeling over with work and fanfic and other stuff….

**DL:** Sleeeeeepppppp….

**KoHi:** Oh…Ok…What about your fanfic which is linked to Chaos Chronicles?

**DL: http:www!fanfiction!net#s#2583908#1# **And you still hadn't beta-ed my next chapter you know...

**KoHi:** Hai_...(goes to slink away and finish beta-reading)_

**

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WARNING:** Looooonnnng Chapter. 

**Other notes:** I will update the Review Replies in my blog soon enough. Work and crappy net is making it difficult for me to think and work. (mournful look)

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**Chapter 21: First Day Funk**

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Hogwarts awoke to a gray morning. Last night's storm had not yet abated. Thunder rolled and lightning lit up the dull skies, zigzagging through the air. A dead tree in the Forbidden Forest was the lone casualty from those strikes. A ferocious wind raged, turning the rain into a sharp curtain of needles.

All outdoor classes were suspended or if possible, moved indoors. Classes held on the turrets were moved lower while those on the outer shell of the castle were moved closer to the center. The reasoning was that not a few students and teachers yelped with each thunder clap that shook the outer walls despite repeated assurances that they really are safe. That and it was getting hard to hear each other in the classroom with each thunder roll and shrieking frightened humans.

The dining hall mood was subdued, with the sound of heavy rain providing most of the ambient noise. Even the students were unnaturally less talkative.

Harry poked at his breakfast, pushing the bacon this way and that as he thought about his unopened envelope containing his OWL results. Sooner or later he was going to have to open that and face the truth. Then there was Miriya's unexpected placement in the House of Slytherin. Were Hermione and Ginny right then in saying not all Slytherins are bad? Speaking of Ginny… she dated a what!

Beside him was Ron, also lost in his thoughts about the events on the train, and how it felt to have all those other students looking to him for leadership. Because of that, the boy's appetite was in no way diminished as he was happily stuffing himself with croissants and sausages and eggs and…well you get the idea.

"Aaaaahhh! But that's mine!"

The loud exclamation was followed by cutlery jumping from the table as the owner of the outrage voice slammed a fist down the banquet table.

"Heh! I don't see your name on this dumpling!" Yusuke shot back from the opposite side of the table, waving a dumpling held between his chopsticks.

Kurama, who was watching from another table with some of the Slytherins, hung his head in resignation. Trust Yusuke and Kuwabara to liven up a dreary morning. Not that his morning was boring to begin with. Aya had dropped in on him during his morning bath. Good thing a prefect wandered in and ordered her off. The girl was about to argue the point when that deceptively frail looking companion of Miriya called her to join them for breakfast. He glanced to where Hiei was seated with the Ravenclaws. He couldn't help but grin at the sight of his old friend. The fire demon looked smaller in the school robes and was sitting stiffly, eyeing the other Ravenclaw newbie-the one called Raul. Raul too looked on alert and seemed to be aware of Hiei's attention on him.

In a way, the Rei Tantei was both grateful and annoyed at the standard robes. For one…it allowed them to easily hide their weapons-something Hiei was very happy of since he didn't want to part with his katana. Unfortunately, it also meant that other people could hide stuff under their robes too. And the Rei Tantei doubted that old wizard caretaker's, named Filch, ability to detect a malicious item if the one bringing it was determined enough to sneak it in.

Kurama looked around the dining hall. He spotted Miriya heading towards the Gryffindor table. How she fit in this puzzle he had no idea.

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It wasn't just the student's dining hall that was relatively quiet. The faculty and staff mess hall was also somber. Everyone was talking to each other in hushed voices or eating quietly. Snape and Mizuki were on a separate table discussing the day's lesson. Judging from Snape's scowl he disagreed with her on quite a few topics. Professor Sprout was trying to strike up a conversation with Firenze. On another side of the room, Touya excused himself from where the loopy Ms. Trelawney was asking him questions about himself and then trying to divine his future. He wasn't too impressed really and wasn't that interested in the woman's flirting attempts. He scanned the room and found the other new teacher sipping his coffee and reading the day's newspaper which some poor owl had apparently managed to deliver despite the storm.

Touya sat down on the vacant chair opposite Tatsumi and continued his breakfast silently. Tatsumi raised an eyebrow at the younger man then resumed his reading. A few minutes later, Tatsumi's alert senses brought him to look up from his newspaper and regard the other man with another raised eyebrow. Touya was looking at him from the rim of his glass of orange juice, apparently studying him.

"Yes?" Tatsumi asked.

No response except to put down his orange juice.

Tatsumi kept the raised eyebrow up, newspaper temporarily forgotten.

Only the basic of actions were performed by the young man. Butter the toast. Eat the buttered toast. Take another sip of his orange juice. More chewing. That seemed to be the routine at the moment.

Tatsumi decided that it was getting infuriating but chose to read his newspaper again and not let the other man rile him up.

A few minutes later, as he was finishing his coffee, the other man stood up.

"Don't accept any offered drinks during lunch time."

The man left before Tatsumi could ask just what the hell that was about.

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Harry's grade was better than he expected and with his new class schedules on hand he and his friends made their way down the dungeons to where Potions would be held. Miriya was talking animatedly to Hermione and Ron was saying something about Quidditch tryouts. He smiled. For once...everything felt perfect...normal. He felt happy.

Which now that he thought about it, wasn't good at all. Something bad was going to happen. He just knew it.

The sound of muted thunder reverberated in the stone walls.

_And what was the deal with this freaky weather anyway?_

"Don't you feel that?" Miriya had touched his arm briefly.

"Feel what?" he asked. The others had stopped to look at her.

"It feels off. Like something else is causing this."

Blank looks from the rest of them.

Hermione spoke up. "Well you did say the Commandments weakening are throwing things out of whack, right?"

Miriya shook her head, "Nope. It's something else, just taking advantage of the situation. Maybe it's nothing..." She shrugged and went in the classroom. The others followed.

The rest of Slytherin and Gryffindor, who qualified for Advanced Potions, were already mostly seated. The girls...and some of the boys were checking out Touya who looked even sterner than usual in his teacher's robe. He was standing over some books and browsing them. A few students sighed dreamily still taking in his looks.

Aya came in last and found herself a seat near him...or rather...stole a seat from another student who was unwise enough to stand up and talk to a fellow classmate. A glare from her convinced the female student to take another seat at the back.

"Making new friends, I see?" Miriya took the seat beside Aya and grinned at the girl. Aya returned a smirk at her back.

Malfoy unwisely chose that moment to make his presence known to the 2 girls.

"Hello ladies," he gave them his most winning smile.

"Bugger off," came Aya's quick retort.

"In your seats everyone," Touya ordered as he slammed a heavy book close. He almost sneezed at the dust kicked up from it. He had temporarily forgotten how dusty these books were. Eyeing his students warily, the young man shook his head.

_Teenagers._ A terrifying age if he recalled correctly. A time when it seemed like everything was possible and foolish enough to actually believe it so.

He didn't like the starry eyed looks either.

He heaved a deep sigh as he glanced at the teacher's subject outline that was handed to him before the class. The potion listed there as their 1st class seatwork did not sit well on him.

_Someone deserved to be shot for even putting that one down._

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Hermione squirmed in her seat. She still hadn't told Miriya about loosing the cards that Eriol meant as a gift for her. She had meant to tell her during breakfast but didn't have the heart when she saw how the other girl was in such a happy mood. Her conscience was starting to bug her big time.

Ron and Harry couldn't hide a smirk when they overheard Malfoy being blown off. Yusuke noticed and slid his seat noisily towards theirs, causing the whole class to wince at the grating noise, before throwing a glare at him. He coolly returned their glare with a grin.

"So hey…what's the story on the blond?" Yusuke started to say when Touya interrupted.

"Urameshi, move your seat back unless you plan on pairing up with one of them for your seatwork partner."

Yusuke looked at the 2 boys hopefully, his demeanor that of a puppy hoping to win a new owner's affection.

Harry blinked then turned to Touya, "Uhm...I guess I won't mind pairing up with him." He was rewarded with a happy whoop from Yusuke.

The rest of the class started pairing up as well. Hermione figured now would be a good time to tell Miriya about the lost cards once she paired up with the girl. She made her way towards the girl but stopped short in her steps when Aya asked Miriya first and the girl agreed.

"You don't seem to have a partner yet," a smooth voice said to her. She whirled around and found herself face to face with Kurama.

"Oh…uhm…yeah…hi," she could feel her cheeks flush.

"Well, you won't mind if we partner up?" Kurama flashed her a winning smile.

No girl could possibly resist that smile, Hermione found herself thinking as Kurama led her to their seats.

"Alright, everyone has partners already?" Touya asked the class.

Nods and murmurs. Aya turned to where Kurama was. He returned her a cool look. Managing a faltered smirk, the teen quickly turned back to face forward again. In a word to describe that; foiled. "Gah… I'll get him soon enough," she muttered to herself. Kurama had declined her invite to pair up leaving her no choice but to invite Miriya.

"Oh you mean him?" Miriya asked. Of course, with the word 'him' one could practically feel the disinterest towards one of the newest heart throbs of the castle.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

The question caught Aya off guard. She was about to respond when Touya tapped Miriya on the head with a teacher's wand.

"Pay attention."

"Hai."

Satisfied, Touya turned to the rest of the class and directed their attention towards a covered cauldron.

"Alright… student's. That will be your first assignment for the day."

He pulled the cover off and a clear liquid that look like water was in the cauldron. It gave off a sweet aromatic scent. Before the young professor managed to question the students, and see if they could guess what the concoction was, a hand shot up. Bewildered by such promptness, the dark haired young man placed himself upon the stool to ready himself for what horrors would be unlocked over the double period. Glancing over at the roster once more, towards the Gryffindor students, a guess wasn't required with Snape's rather...helpful hints. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

Swelling up with a little pride, as usual when chosen, Hermione proved just what the other students meant with her being a braniac. "That, sir, is a love potion. Sometimes called Aphrodite's Draught, Valentine's wine, and the Draught of Adoration. It's distinguished by the sweet pungent smell, and colorless pigmentation. Able to be mixed with just about any drink, it brings the user to fall in love with the person it was directed towards. It's effects, though potent, are known to wear off after at least 24 hours."

Raising an eyebrow, one would think the professor was staring at an alien. Of course, he wasn't used to the girl's rather informative responses. "Yes, that's right. Directions are on the board... Keep talking to a minimum, and only for class work. You have plenty of time over lunch and in-between classes to chat."

It was almost as if he spoke in a different language with that last part. Immediately, a wave of sound filled the room. Many just trying to figure out who would do what, while others had been chatting on the greatest subject; all of the new students. Apparently…no one understood what it meant to keep "talking to a minimum."

"So, what's with the blond?" the dark haired Asian brought it up again, only to receive incredulous glances from the other two.

"You're kidding me, right? Draco's the biggest prat of the school," Harry muttered as he bent over the ingredients trying to prepare them for the draught.

Nodding, having been close enough to participate in the conversation, the fiery red head added in, "Should've seen him our first year. Shot down by Harry here, took a permanent grudge since then."

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"Ayia... She's too lucky," Aya commented sourly, while adding in a shredded up root to the now rogue pink concoction. According to the board, they were doing things about the right way, though it was darker and stronger smelling than Hermione and Kurama's cauldron.

"Why even bother?" It seemed a complete mystery why the tall girl had kept trying to 'get' Kurama all this time. Personally, Miriya could've cared less, and preferred to be in a House away from him.

While one's actions seemed a mystery, the question was one which seemed even more...strange. Blinking, almost as if it were obvious, the two paused long enough to hear Touya telling everyone to keep the chatter down once again. Allowing a few minutes of brewing in silence to pass by, the tall student's answer seemed to come out of nowhere. "Because I'm an American. New Yorker, to be worse, which only heightens my stubborn-ness. I can't just give up, and have to beat at least ninety-nine point nine nine nine nine nine nine nine nine percent of the school body." Flashing a grin while adding the powdered oyster shell, finally a more believable thing was said. "How's that for a humorous answer?"

Raising an eyebrow, clearly somewhat amused, Miriya finally decided to respond after changing the heat of the cauldron's flame. "So what's the real answer?"

Waiting for her partner to look up, those reddish brown eyes held something near-threatening, as the rest of her face curled up into a wide grin. Using the sweetest tone possible, Aya said, "None of your business," while moving to stir the potion counterclockwise.

Miriya was looking to say something, when another warning from Professor Kinomoto stopped the conversation short once again. This was probably best, considering the animosity which rose so quickly over a simple question. Shaking her head, the two worked in silence till the potion shifted colors once more.

Theirs was a deep crimson; while a glance back showed Hermione and Kurama's potion had already passed that color and was on an ice blue shade. Though new to the school, apparently that was the pairing of a lifetime, intelligence-wise at least.

Around the classroom, everyone else seemed to be getting along pretty well. There was no Snape, to Draco's displeasure, to scare everyone. Especially Neville, whom the Gryffindors all knew held a fear for the greasy haired professor. Though at the time, his and Ron's love potion wasn't going along the path exactly set on the board, it didn't seem to be ready to explode. Sounds of a few girls giggling at least raise some of the guys' worries. They were scary predators when given a target, and a new weapon to try out.

Though it was a double class, and Touya made sure to stop the useless chatter as much as possible, it definitely didn't seem a nightmare for the students. When reaching the end, a good amount of the potions looked and smelled to be about right. All that was required was an eyelash of who the drinker was to fall for, and it'd turn completely colorless and diminish in aromatic fragrance. For the best potion, being Kurama and Hermione's, 10 points was actually given towards both houses. With the homework given out, everyone brought up a vial of their works before 'cleaning up.' Before all dispersed, the young professor held a rather serious expression upon his face before releasing a warning. "I suggest you don't try this against me, for I will be able to tell if you have slipped some within my drink. Every time I catch you, I'll dock 5 points from your house and assign a detention."

With so many new beautiful people in the school, at least 80 percent of the students had borrowed one of their own flasks to fill up with the potions. The guy's felt that the new girls and Miss Kaho, would be a good target to go after. Of the majority, mentions of Nefertiti came up. Malfoy knew it'd be a good method on getting the pure-blooded women on his side long enough. Being in Slytherin, it was easier to go after the female students.

Then there were the girls, who were much more cunning. They had already been working on trying to get to Kurama, and see if he'd join them for lunch. Though innocent, it was plainly obvious on the intent poorly hidden. Aya, who wanted to try something else, came up to the professor. She had already slipped in an eyelash while the crowd swarmed around the front desk. While a flask was in her bag as well, the small vial seemed to be enough. Waiting for most to have left, a small smile was given while leaning against the desk.

Glancing over to the student, Touya remained unimpressed but wasn't going to be cruel... much. "Yes?"

"Could you make sure that ours work? I mean, you said it looked somewhat right and such. It doesn't work if the eyelash isn't put in anyways, right?"

Taking the vial, a hard glance was given before vanished away. "Terrible try. You should try to leave before I dock points from Slytherin."

"That'd be going against your word! I didn't slip it in anything, or try to trick... Much." Before waiting for a reply from the irritated young man, the tall student went out to join the rest within the hall.

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The students were now making their way out of the dungeon to get to the dining hall for lunch when a particularly loud thunder clap shook the whole castle-the vibration felt all the way down, even in the depths of the dungeons.

Students screamed.

Some used the chance to latch on some cute newbies. Hiei's reflexes saved him from being glomped, but he still couldn't believe how fast the humans were actually moving just to glomp him and the others. He decided not to underestimate them in the future.

And then there was another booming thunder clap and there were the muted sounds somewhere in the castle of things exploding. Instantly all the newbies were on alert.

"What the hell was that!" Raul growled.

Miriya had bumped into him while trying to avoid an overeager hug from a male student saying he was going to comfort her, "That's no ordinary thunder…"

"No kidding." Raul shot back.

Hermione had jumped into Kurama's arms but hurriedly disentangled herself when she saw the look Ron shot her way. "Sorry… I didn't mean to…"she muttered, cheeks aflame. She honestly didn't mean to. But she was so surprised…

"Don't worry about it."

"Maybe we should," Hiei said to Kurama coming up beside the fox. "Because that last thunder claps felt a lot like when those cards…"

"Cards!" Miriya turned sharply to the 2 Rei Tantei. Hermione wilted. "What cards?" Miriya's voice was tight. Kurama saw her eyes flick towards Yukito who gave her an innocent smile.

"He meant the cards I lost," Hermione finally owned up looking utterly miserable. "Eriol gave it to me for safe-"

She never got to finish explaining. As soon as she mentioned Eriol's name Miriya had took off, almost flying up the stairs.

"Hey…" Harry called out. "Wait!"

The Heirs looked at each other and then followed. The confused students had no choice but to follow and wonder what was up. Emerging from the dungeons-a chaotic sight greeted them. The halls were drenched. The reason for the muted explosions was apparent. The water pipelines had exploded. And judging from some of the ooze and stink…so did the sewage lines.

Ron blinked, "What kind of freak thunder could do that!"

"One most likely caused by the Water Spirit and some of her friends," Yukito said calmly, still smiling like this was all normal. Sure, students trying to get out of the muck and flooding halls were normal. After all… Hogwarts had more bizarre happenings in its history right? Right.

Kuwabara shuddered and turned to Yusuke, "I don't know what he's saying, but I feel something really powerful and malicious out there…"

"No duh," Yusuke muttered.

"Miriya!" Harry looked around wildly for his sister...oh okay fine if you want to get technical about it-his magical sibling, was gone and nowhere to be seen. He turned to Yukito, "Where did she go!"

"Off to get the card."

"What! I don't understand."

The Rei Tantei looked at each other than back to Yukito. Kurama spoke up, "Cards...?"

"Uhm, guys... Is it just me or the water level is rising?" Ron muttered.

It was at that moment that Moaning Myrtle glided up to Harry complaining how her toilet was backed up with sludge and that no one was paying to attention.

It didn't take long for Kurama to put 2 and 2 together. Youko chuckled.

_/Got to give the magician credit for trapping an Elemental in a card, ne Kurama/_

_But if Miriya is going to go get it..._

"Oh shit..." was all Kurama said before following the girl.

"Now where is he going...?" Kuwabara scratched his head.

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The doors that lead outside the castle were locked up tight. Miriya had no time for pleasantries. She forced it open with her will. The heavy oak doors slammed open as she raced down the halls. Several teachers called out to her not to go out but she didn't heed their calls.

_Was it possible? Were Grandpapa's little sister's cards still alive?_

But then, wasn't that the only explanation she could think of at the moment? The energy bore the unmistakable mark of the Reed magical line now that she knew what it was and what to look for.

_Sakura-chan, was this how it felt like for the first time?_

Her own knees were shaking. And to think Sakura was younger than her for the first card capture.

The rain and wind almost push her back. She stretch out her senses trying to get a sense of what was out there... _Wind card?_

And then a wave of water crashed into the castle, pouring from the open door. Almost instantly her own magic and skills kicked in to protect herself. The Heir's came running just in time to see her jump up and land lightly on higher ground. The water started to flood the lower floors of the castle and teachers and students hurriedly evacuated the area.

Spells to contain the damage and push back the flood water were bouncing off it and only seemed to enrage the now seemingly alive water. The Rei Tantei skidded to a halt just behind the Heirs.

A column of water rose up and headed directly for them. Everyone scattered. Harry who was following close to the Tantei's heels would have been hit, if it weren't for Yusuke who got to him just in time and pulled him to higher level.

Nefertiti uttered a spell to calm the waters. It had the opposite effect. A water sprite rose up and attacked her.

"The Element doesn't recognize you," a calm voice said from the sidelines.

Yukito.

"It only recognizes power and yields to a power that can defeat her," he continued. "She only recognizes the next worthy Master or Mistress."

Ashlar was staring at the opposite ledge, "Look... look at Reed's Heir."

"She is not an Heir and there is no House of Reed!" Zshar yelled at the boy.

Raul shook his head unbelievingly, "You guys are unbelievable... We're having a problem and you're still being prissy!"

But the Rei Tantei had noticed what Ashlar was saying. On the ledge that Miriya had taken her refuge she was standing there looking intently into the turbulent murky water that had come from the lake. Moments later, she looked up and the water spirit attacking Nefertiti stopped. It then slowly turned to Miriya who now looked a bit different. The girl's aura was glowing. Her dark hair was being blown by the energy called up by her aura.

The spirit shrieked at her. Kurama noticed the strange eyes on Miriya...it had turned white-almost glowing. And then the flow of chi...So powerful even its subdue state that it almost made him want to genuflect to it.

_The lady has the manner of an Olden Queen._

That was Youko musing. Kurama looked around and saw that the others had the same stunned look that he must have worn. And then the water spirit attacked-throwing off energy that blasted a hole on the thick stone walls.

"Oh god!" Harry screamed as he only saw a gaping hole where the ledge once was.

"She's fine," Yusuke said tightly.

She was.

Outside, the spirit and Miriya were locked in battle. Each time they met- a loud clap of thunder was heard. The water spirit flew this way or that or sent parts of itself to attack Miriya. The girl held her ground, deflecting with her own psychic shield but still getting drenched.

Students had finally come out to watch as the water receded, sucked up in the fight. Kurama watched helplessly, mind racing. _How the hell do you defeat pure water elemental? Would Hiei's fire be enough?_

A first year had wandered way too far from the group. The spirit saw its chance to distract Miriya. It went for the kid. The magical lines groaned as Miriya pulled at it to halt the spirit. As a result she was unaware that a part of it had snuck up behind her. She found herself drowning in a water bubble.

Before anyone could help her, the water spirit lifted up its prey and together they both fell in the middle of the lake and sunk. The lake boiled with the 2 magical combatants.

_I must... get free... or I'm done for...!_

She was starting to lose her breath. She closed her eyes and concentrated. _Fire, the natural enemy of water..._

Her mental scream tore a hole through the water bubble, shooting up a pillar of pure energy up. The Water screamed. She'd hurt it badly enough, but... _No, she had lost precious air. No, she was..._

Something black and huge glided under her, pushing her up for air.

_Wha...? Huh...?_

The spirit was not done. It was hurt but determined to win. It attacked again, intent on drowning her finally. A column of fire shot at it. It screamed again in pain.

She opened her eyes. _Wait a minute... that was... familiar..._

_Open your eyes Miriya! You can defeat it!_

_That voice...!_

_Yes Miriya... I'm back. You've hurt it. Finish it._

_Cray!_

_Yes... I'm here... my love._

Light surrounded her as she was finally able to tap into her true power. She no longer had to worry about losing control.

_Cray was here._

She curled up, knowing what to do now. The knowledge was in her all along. She touched the silver necklace...and it turned into a silver staff. She rose from the lake...a simple flying spell.

"Hey... you. We're not done yet." she addressed the spirit gravely, voice ringing over the wind.

It shrieked at her defiantly.

"You're going back into the card like or not, and you'll recognize me as your mistress!"

"You are not Reed's sister!" It spoke for the first time.

"No, but I'm his Descendant."

The Water attacked again. The staff blocked it. A twist and she drove it straight into its core. The Water started to dissolve. The angry expression started to soften and then finally... "Lady Reed," it whispered before returning to its card form. The card floated into her hand. The weather suddenly cleared up. The students who had gathered on the banks cheered, but Miriya didn't hear them. She was looking for Cray. As her eyes found him standing at the lake's edge, just out of the Forbidden Forest, she smiled and allowed herself to drop her guard.

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Kurama hesitated at knee deep water as a figure dove in for Miriya and minutes later was swimming, with her unconscious body, towards the shore. He sensed the man's strength and saw the tender look he cast on the girl huddled in his arms.

"Cray!"

The man turned his head at the sound of his name. The eyes were the color of sky blue.

"Zshar."

It was a statement.

The girl seemed to wilt a bit as Kurama saw the boy's face harden. Miriya stirred in his arms and then opened her eyes. Their eyes met and it seemed like the rest of them wasn't there, the boy's face instantly softening at the sight of her.

"Eherm..." Harry cleared his throat. Nope, he didn't like his sister falling in love with strangers. Okay... His magical sister. But so what?

The 2 turned to look at him and Miriya started to get down. Cray let her on her feet, a raised eyebrow at her.

"Cray... Harry, my... Magical brother. Harry... Cray... my, uh..." she blushed.

"Fiancé," Cray finished for her.

A buzz rose up from the crowd. And to think the day wasn't done yet.

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-

-

It was way past lunch and they were late for DADA. Miriya had been sent to the Hospital wing for a check up. Cray was with her, and while there, was being interviewed by McGonagall. The rest had no choice but to trudge their way to DADA-but not after making a quick side trip on the mess hall which made them even later, even if it was just to grab a sandwich and juice to calm rumbling stomachs.

They entered just in time though to catch the tail end of Snape's rant that magical disasters did not count for a valid excuse for lateness. Of course, that just made it easy for Snape to zero in on Harry again who was trying to slink in at the back.

The DADA room was altered a bit for this year. It was set up like a Roman stadium with most of the room as open space. It didn't take much to figure out that there were going to be duels held in that room. Much like the other students, the late ones moved to sit along the edge of the sphere. It didn't occur to any of them that it was possible to make a room larger, but apparently it was, considering there was no way this much room could be available.

Finally, everyone was quiet, sitting, and paying attention. Deciding it was best, the young lithe woman stepped forward. Not only to gain their eyes, but also to emphasize the flat ground's purpose. "Before Snape had interrupted, pointing out the importance of punctuality, I was going through our year's schedule. This will be unlike most of your years, most relating to Professor Lupin's teachings. It seems that he was the only one that actually took on a physical defense as well. With Eastern teachings, the 'sensei,' or teacher in your terms, makes sure their student has a balance of physical as well as mental knowledge and strength. This is where you are lacking, having the scales towards the mental end. Through the year, you'll participate in duels, and learn how to fight using what you will and have already learned."

Clearing her throat, one would think satisfaction was growing in those eyes at seeing some of the students sweating out the possibilities. About to continue, the interruption of Professor Snape's throat brought attention to focus on him. While Mizuki had natural charisma for people to listen gladly, the former Potions master held something, a deadly silence within his voice. Though soft, it struck into most peoples hearts, and only irked the newer students. "Perhaps, Miss Kaho, it's best to show a demonstration of what exactly you plan on having our students learns."

"Hm? Oh, yes! I was thinking of doing so..." Right away she went into the papers about the new students. Definitely the exchange students would suit this best; it was just a matter of which one. "Okay... How about Raul and Aya. Keep it clean, and stop when I call it."

Glancing at the two, the girl suddenly flashed a smile before getting up. As they both reached the center of the space, the two shed the layer of uniform to reveal a pair of pants and comfortable shirt upon both. The two obviously made sure to never be unprepared for a fight. "I wanted to test you out since yesterday. Pity the stiffs had to stop us," Aya said happily.

Instead of getting some kind of verbal response, which looked to be what the tall girl was waiting for, the pierced and tattooed young man decided to keep up a smirk before getting ready. Of course, it took till everyone was backed up as much as possible and the go-ahead from Miss Kaho before the two were able to release some of their energy. Not too much, considering the 'small' space. Immediately, the two seemed to disappear before the clash of auras swept across the two. One marking intense training and instinct, while the other held the darkness of experience. Separating both ended up in position across from each other.

Immediately, Raul knew what would happen. If he was able to defeat this girl, he'd gain the strength from her and all those people she had defeated enough to stain her aura. Slipping into a stance, words of his own native language came through as the right tattooed hand started on the single symbol which would immobilize movement. Normally, it would work; if he wasn't up against someone who looked like they knew just was going on.

Then it showed how much of a mistake Raul had made. Immediately, the aura around Aya lashed out across the room to create a wave of cold air, which immediately dissipated as quickly as it had come. Instead of the work Raul put into his charm, it had only angered the messy-haired teen.

It quickly turned from a friendly duel to a deadly battle.

The rules of proper dueling diminished, as the instinct of self-preservation kicked in. Crude moves and methods of fighting were used. Though well trained, and taught extreme discipline, the tattooed young man had to resort to hair pulling to use the momentum and throw the raging dark haired girl off from him. Cuts and gashes line his skin, as more talismans were thrown out at Aya. At first, they looked to work, to only fade away as if the girl was used to much worse, and have the tall student attack once more.

Some of the students were freaking out, trying to get out of the locked doors. Not even the Alohomora spell was effective against the door. Why weren't the professors doing anything!

Well, Snape had tried, to find that the lack of knowledge on the Eastern branch of magic was his downfall. The spells he was allowed to cast upon the students hadn't even caught their attention. Growling in frustration, those black cold eyes focused on his partner in this subject. "Well, this is your branch. Do something!"

Yet she didn't. Instead, the kind teacher just gave Snape a smile before watching over the scene. Not a shred of worry yet on her face. "Considering how many powerful students are here, I'm positive they can handle this."

"You'll trust those brats!"

"Yes, I will." Her voice held a finality, knowing that no one would challenge her beliefs at the time.

Of course, the Tantei really weren't the kind to sit around and do nothing. This didn't have those rules like back in the tournament. Especially after one of the combatant's attacks almost hit the group. Getting up, Yusuke was obviously pissed off, "I'm not about to let someone turn me into ribbons, dammit!"

Aiming for the body pummeling into the other, a sphere of ice blue energy gathered at Yusuke's index finger. Not a deadly shot, but considering the two, it'd only be enough to shake the crazed girl out of the Killer's state of mind. Releasing the Spirit Gun's bullet, the energy landed right in the back of the dark haired girl's neck base. Though it'd cause a little disorientation and a slightly bloodied nose from her impact against the ground, it was better than that rather a death.

As the girl's body fell forward several feet over Raul's unconscious state, Yusuke went in between the two to make sure the battle doesn't continue, "Oi, shouldn't someone get him over to that hospital wing place or something?"

"Of course. I'm sure Snape would be glad to do so," Mizuki said, still smiling despite the glare she received from the other professor. "You don't want to be around still if they lose control again, I'm sure, Severus."

One would think that the vein popping out of the man's temple was about to explode. Silently fuming, Raul's body was floated up as Snape unlocked and left through the door, to head up to Madame Pomfrey's.

-

-

-

Miriya met Harry and the others as they exited DADA.

"Huh? Why is class over so soon?" she looked surprised.

Ron groaned, "Long story."

Harry placed an arm around her shoulder and steered her towards History. "Look at the bright side…next up would be History of Magic…maybe the new guy will put us to sleep like Professor Binns," Harry mused. "So…where's uh…Cray?"

"Mhmm? Oh…Professor McGonagall is interviewing him." She blushed again.

Hermione came up to her and looked at her worriedly,"I'm sorry about the cards."

Miriya waved her off,"It's ok. I would have still fought it even if you hadn't lost it. That's how they are…you have to win their respect."

Ron bumped up to them and said in a stage whisper, "Did you see what Urameshi did?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah…he made his finger all glowy"

"Forget that…" Neville added. "Did you see what Aya and Raul did?"

And all of a sudden the students were now asking the newbies to explain their particular magic. The more stuck up of the Heirs refused to say anything…while the Rei Tantei wracked their brains up for some believable explanation and not give the demon part away.

Miriya was being overwhelmed with questions especially from Hermione. She put a stop to it and muttered, "Look…I'm sure our new History teacher can answer your questions better than me…okay?"

There were a few nods and grumbling but at last they made it to the History class. There were also surprised remarks when Aya joined them.

"Heh. See… I didn't hit her so badly,"Yusuke said to another student.

Aya came up to him and glared, "You do realize that this means I'll have to get even with you."

Yusuke just grinned. But the tension was there…and the air was starting to crackle again.

Hiei groaned, "Just…great…"

"Defense Arts class is over," an authoritative voice said. "So I will not tolerate fighting in my classroom."

"Technically," Aya shot back. "It's still DADA time."

"Ms. Shinimori… if you want me to dock more points from Slytherin to add to the other points you lost by lining my cup with love potion then feel free to be a smart ass."

"Woah! " Kuwabara exclaimed. "You! Slipped love potion to Sei-san?"

Tatsumi tried not to blush at the memory of that. He shuddered instead and thanked Touya in his mind for the antidote. He kept his stern mask on though for the class.

_But damn…how long till that antidote work anyway? Shoot…is it reacting to his being…eherm…shinigami?_ Though when casting a glance to the student, the brunette froze in his tracks. She actually held those same eyes... _Enma, I thought only Tsuzuki could pull off that look..._

"In my class, I expect all of you to take notes, as I do not waste my time explaining historical facts. Chatting is to remain minimal, and questions to be saved till I open up the floor. I don't know how your previous professor pulled this class off, but now participation will include a huge role. Discussions will happen most, if not all, periods, relating to the most recent subject. You don't do your homework, then you not only won't understand the lesson's subject, but will lose house points. I don't allow any room for slackers."

Waiting the moans, groans, and complaints from the mass to quiet down, those blue eyes focused on every student. Well, almost every student. Something within the young-looking shinigami kept telling him to set at least a small glance on the slightly beaten up girl. Focusing once again, Tatsumi held a clear strict voice, though definitely not monotone. Today's lesson was all about the 12 houses of Man, their relation to Hogwarts, and especially the 10 Commandments.

While he wasn't one to allow rest, like Professor Binns was, the subject and intonations were enough to hook the students in. They've been wondering about this for a long time... Well, since they had all arrived at Hogwarts. So once he had opened up the floor, questions littered the air. In fact, only one seemed to cause laughter from being off subject.

"How long's your wand?" it came, a moment before the inquirer started to suck along her index finger.

_That type of thing should be illegal..._ the professor thought to himself, while shaking under the desk, where none could see him. Touya did mention that in classes they may have made the potion a little stronger than it should have. Either that, or the antidote was taking it's time a lot longer than it should due to his lack of life. If class continued... he'd surely end up losing control. A frightening thought.

"Homework is to read up chapters 1 through 3, and give me at least 15 inches worth of a summary along with personal opinions. Extra credit is providing your own theory on today's subject, what you think is going to happen, and the key to it all. To be handed by the end of the week, or else it wont be accepted. Amount of credit will be delivered on a case by case basis."

Slowly, everyone pushed themselves up and out of the class room, chatting about what they were thinking about. Mostly the card capture and the fight in DADA. Aya, who was about to leave as well, held a slight grin while turning around to reenter the History room. Just before she was able to enter though…

"Shinimori, the headmaster is to speak with you," came the voice of a very irritated House Head. More specifically, Professor Snape. Those who were nearby muttered, already starting rumors, while watching the tall student led by the most hated professor of Hogwarts.

-

-

-

Rumors, speculations and assumptions flew thick and fast all through out dinner and way into the sitting rooms where the students had finally retired themselves to socialize or do homework. Some were not sure how to treat the new students.

A lot of them were scared by the power the newbies seemed to possess. A lot more were fascinated and thought it was way cool. A few thought that they can get that powerful and some of them might in actuality.

One of them that had the potential was now huddled over a thick book.

"Wow…" a feminine voice said amusedly. "Is my brother and Harry actually studying?"

Ron raised a hurt look at his younger sister," Hey! We do study!"

"I don't think copying Hermione's work count as studying," Ginny stuck her tongue out at Ron. Harry watch at the exchange and hadn't realize he was already staring at Ginny.

"Yes?" she asked him, noticing his gaze.

Shoot. Think fast, Harry. Think fast.

"Err…nothing…" he muttered, trying his best not to blush. "It's just that…uhm…well…since Miriya came along…well uhm…I kinda know now what it felt like to have a sister…."

He blabbered on till he realized the room had fallen quiet. He look up and stared.

The tall dark and handsome man with the piercing blue eyes was standing near the portrait hole….apparently he had just come in. He looked at them all and coolly made his way to where the boys apartment where-totally unconcerned at their reaction.

That is until Yusuke blocked his way.

"Konnichiwa!"

Cray blinked.

Yusuke grinned again and extended a hand in greeting. "Hi! Name's Urameshi Yusuke. I said good evening in Japanese."

A slow cautious smile appeared on the boy's face as he took Yusuke's hands," Cray Fenume, from the House of the Dragon Clan. And yes I know. My fiancée is half Japanese."

"Oh cool!" Yusuke pumped the young man's hand firmly and gladly. "Always nice to meet powerful people."

Kuwabara overheard and groaned, "Puhleeze, Yusuke! The day has been long enough already."

"What?" Yusuke turned to Kazuma. "I'm not going to challenge him now…geeze…what do you think of me?" He pouted and feigned a hurt look.

"Err…you would?" Ron blinked.

"Eh…don't you want to know how you rate up against the others?" Yusuke blinked too.

"Uh…no."

That was incomprehensible to Yusuke. He was the type to test out his skills against other persons who had those same skills in order to check how much he had improved and needs improving. And here was this kid…and not only is he not testing his own skills against other…he seemed content not to have any sort of specialty.

"Wow…that type of thinking could get you killed in Ma..."

A hand clapped on his mouth stopped him. The 2 exchanged looks.

"Err..what Yusuke meant," Kuwabara grinned sheepishly. "He meant the Ma district where he grew up…ahehehe."

"Uhm…yeah…hehehe…like what he said."

Cray look at them both oldly but then seemed to shrug and smiled anyway, "Well it was nice meeting you…but I must go get some rest myself…I have a day to catch up on what happened."

He bowed formally to the group and went up.

Harry was left staring at his retreating form.

_Dang…and I was thinking of asking him a few questions…_

And so the first day of school in Hogwarts closed with another mystery in the form of Cray Fenuma, the 7th of the Houses of Man.

Kuwabara was right. It was a looooonnnng day indeed.

-

-

-

**TBC**

_

* * *

_**Scene:** Author and co-author falls asleep from instruction. Poster at the back says read and review. 

Zzzzzzz…. (sleep talks) No...there is no Ma district in Japan. But they didn't know that...bet you didn't know that either...mwahahahaha (zonks out again)

_

* * *

_


	23. A Day in the Life

**Chapter 22:**

**A Day in the Life...**

Midnight, and the world was silent, save for the occasional cry of the nocturnal animals. A small shadow flitted out of a window on the Ravenclaw tower. Pausing, it faded from ordinary sight, becoming no different from the darkness of the night.

Hiei hugged the walls, making him smaller and casting as little shadow as possible. Using skills learned through survival in Makai, he made his way towards the Slytherin Tower, careful not to trip any of the magical lines that would alert the teachers and staff inside of his presence. It would be very difficult to explain what he, a student, was doing outside the castle grounds and flitting about on the roof tops. Not only that; He had to keep an eye out too for ghosts especially that pesky Peeves. But just in case he would run into that annoying ghost... He touched his pocket briefly. Kurama had given him some powder made from some plants in Makai to deal with ghosts.

He came to Slytherin's Tower and quickly located the window to Kurama's room. He was about to get up to it when something red popped out.

"BOO!"

"GYAH!"

Hiei almost lost his balance and managed to cling to some finger holds the castle walls afforded to him.

"Kurama!" he hissed at the fox angrily as the red head was doubling over in laughter where he was perched on the window sill. "Stupid fox! You'll wake the others!"

Kurama was still trying to catch his breath and laughing. Clambering back up, the stout fire demon looked to his hysterical friend suspiciously, "You're giddy..."

Kurama held on the sill, trying to reclaim his breath while pointing at the waxing full moon.

"Hn. You're crazier than usual then."

"I know, I know... It's bothering me, too."

"Surprising me like that... I could have killed you, you know. Not to mention, what the hell are you thin..." Hiei trailed off as he smelled something in the air. He looked at the fox pointedly. "Wonderful. Sleeping pollen; the variety that knocks humans to sleep but doesn't do a thing for us."

Kurama hopped on the sill and crouched. "I had to do something. Like you said, I'd been feeling giddy; like I wanted to bounce around the room, and all."

The small demon's eyes widened a bit then narrowed in thought. "How old are you again, Kurama..?"

"Huh? Me or Youko...?"

"Youko..."

"I have no idea. I know I'm pretty old..."

"Kurama, you may have forgotten how you go into these cycles, of complete rationality and..."

Kurama froze; he had forgotten. It had been so long. _En-ma, he had forgotten_. He uttered a Makai swear word. When he was younger, he experienced episodes of utter lucidity and insanity. Thing is, he remembered everything once he got back to himself but nothing before that. Like his past and how he got that way. As time had passed, the intervals of clarity had grown longer. The moments of insanity shorter, but when the insanity hits, it was like being trapped in his body and watching someone else go on a rampage if not restrained. That was how Youko Kurama's reputation grew in Makai. How everyone had come to fear the name Youko.

"Don't worry. Yusuke and I will restrain you," Hiei said in a tone that was as close as he could get to teasing. "Or maybe Tatsumi to help along. He doesn't strike me as the type to deviate from the mission. You going bonkers pretty much do exactly that."

"Look at the bright side; I'm stuck in a human body and have no access to my full abilities. Maybe that will help, eh?" Kurama said trying to console himself and quiet the nagging voice at the back of his mind. Youko was laughing insanely back there.

"Tch. I fail to see the bright side of that; Humans are unpredictable. Just look at Yusuke."

Kurama groaned. "Gee thanks, Hiei. Rain on my parade will ya...?"

"I don't do water; I'm a fire demon."

The 2 friends disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

Tatsumi quietly slipped out of the Faculty Common Room. Hogwarts corridors were dark and full of traps. Teachers who were not assigned patrol duty that night had already retired. He wasn't one of those assigned of course, but then again being a teacher was incidentary to his mission. A few well placed questions, a nudge of a drink here and there... a few bribes and flattery, and tongues got wagging. In a short while he had most of the story of what had been happening to Hogwarts in the past 5 years. He lowered his chi to a level where he disappeared from human and ghost sight and navigated his way to the twisting, changing hall ways of Hogwarts.

* * *

Miriya ran lightly on the corridors knowing exactly where she was going. She didn't have to see to know where she was, and where he was. His aura guided her to him. She'd forgotten to take a coat was just dressed in her sleep wear underneath the cloak. Her feet were cold, with the ballet slippers she had on not providing any warmth. They didn't have any time alone the whole day and it had been so long since she last saw him. Then circumstances conspired to put them in separate Houses. They were shooting each other meaningful looks across the room, and for some annoying reason, that redhead with the green eyes would get in the way. 

_Cray..._

She heard his answering thought to her own. A delicate wisp in her mind. She ran to the meeting place they had decided, disappearing into the shadows.

* * *

Aya sulked in her chair determinedly not answering any questions. She was in Dumbledore's office, along with the man himself and a few other teachers. The Headmaster was sitting calmly at his chair and smiling at her benevolently. 

_A little more fat here and there and he'd look like Jolly Saint Nick._

"What is the meaning of this notebook!" Snape slammed her journal down in front of her.

She glared at him. _None of your fricking business grease face_.

Professor McGonagall was wringing her hands. Still, Dumbledore seemed calm as ever.

"Ms. Shinimori, you will explain to your teachers why you have a Necronomicon in your possession," Snape said again.

_Necro-what..?_ She wanted to laugh so badly now.

"Are you a necromancer!" He demanded again, unpleased with the silent treatment. McGonagall was looking more upset by the minute.

Aya laughed. She couldn't help it anymore. Necromancers bring the dead back to life, or some sort of semblance to life. What she'd been doing lately was giving necromancers something to play with.

"What's so funny?"

Apparently, the greasy haired professor didn't like being laughed at. She only found that funnier.

"Enough Severus."

"But Albus!" McGonagall implored while Snape looked shocked.

"The young lady is not a Necromancer, of that I can assure you."

_The old wizard's not as dumb as he looks then. I could actually start respecting him... Nah._

"What proof do you need Dumbledore? The way she fought in class, this notebook bound by... human skin..." Snape's tone quickly turned to that of disgust.

"The young lady does not bring people back from the grave..."

Aya smiled at the owner of the newly arrived voice. It was the cute Potion's teacher. He wasn't so bad after all... Even if he refused her vial.

"Rather," Touya continued. "She puts them there..."

Stunned silence. Only Dumbledore and Touya remained unmoved.

_Wait... It's gotta be the skin covering. I mean, doesn't take much of a genius to figure that out. So what if it's off the mark..._

"But the skin are not her victims," Touya said simply. "It has simply come to her possession."

"I beg your pardon!" Snape's voice was getting higher pitched.

"Severus," Dumbledore waved a hand, still in that serene manner. "Kinomoto has the gift to see the Truth. It is why I have him here. There are precious few of us left who have that gift."

"But he has basically told us she's a murderer!"

_Screw you._ Aya gave Snape the mental equivalent of the finger.

"She kills for a reason."

Snape glared at Touya. McGonagall seemed to be in shock.

Aya was smiling goofily at Touya, now biting the back of her thumbnail. _Wow...gorgeous and smart. Hmm... He's Miriya's cousin? Maybe I should be nicer to that girl after all... She's not half so bad._

"And that would somehow make it okay? Because she kills for a reason?" McGonagall spoke up a bit shrilly.

"Onmyoujitsu deals with Balances, Severus, and Minerva."

Snape glowered. He didn't like his co-teacher in DADA calling him by his 1st name. At the same time, Aya managed to look innocent at Mizuki's statement.

"Are you telling us... Killing is acceptable?" McGonagall was looking at Mizuki, appalled.

"In certain circumstances, yes, I'm afraid so. Even Death is a balance..." Her eyes met Touya's and a knowing smile was exchanged. "I'm sure that our new History teacher will concur if he was here."

"You can go now, Aya," Dumbledore smiled at her warmly. "And you can take your journal as well."

"Hai!" _And I won't be so careless next time. Damn Nefertiti and Zshar... Those stuck ups. Those... Tattlers... We'll see about that..._

Snape watched the tall girl disappear behind the great statue and turned to the other teachers, "And what if she kills again? Are we going to stand by and watch?"

Mizuki smiled warmly, "But you forget; Balance. There are others here, who can cancel her out."

McGonagall gasped, "I cannot believe how calmly you speak of murder!"

"Not murder," Dumbledore was playing with an antique balancing scale. He dropped weight on one side tipping the scale. "She is this..." He dropped another equal weight on the other side, evening it out. "The other one is this; and as you can see..." He beamed at the perfectly balanced scale.

"You see my fellow teachers; what we all must understand, re-learn again is that Balance is important... For so long we have ignored Balance, but Balance cannot be ignored, for it will find some way to assert itself."

* * *

Kurama halted in mid step causing Hiei to bump into him. 

"What?" the fire demon hissed softly at him.

"Shhh..."

That's when Hiei sensed it. 2 aura's, subdued, but nonetheless, merged. And then the faint fragrant but human scent wafted to their noises.

Maja and Magi, or in Hogwarts terms, witch and wizard.

Hiei sensed the sudden stiffening in Kurama's body and wondered what got into his friend.

* * *

"Silly girl, forgetting your coat..." Cray whispered to her as he had her shivering body in his arms, holding her tightly. He had wrapped his own cloak over her so that she was warm. He was shivering too, but of a different sort of heat. 

"I'm so sorry... I was in a hurry," her teeth chattered mildly.

"You were never too good with the cold..." He lifted her off her feet as he kissed her, sending a warmth down her body as he slowly pushed her against the wall.

_(Cray!)_

_I can't Touda... I just can't. I want to touch her so badly!_

She moaned softly near his ears whispering how she missed him as she clung to him tightly, feet dangling slightly off the floor.

He let out a soft groan. With his heightened god-senses he could tell by her scent she was still a virgin. He'd known that already; she'd told him as much, had never doubted it, but to have that scent tease his senses...

_Toudaaaaa... Heaven help me, I can't resist her..._

_(CRAY!_)

He knew she didn't mean it; was probably not even aware of it. A part of him chuckled wryly at finally understanding why some rituals demanded virgin sacrifices. Their aura was untouched. No psychic imprints or echoes. The spotless Lamb... _If she united with him..._

_(Don't you dare Cray!)_

Okay, so he didn't have any... precautions at hand, but other than that why not? They didn't have to go that far you know.

_(Her aura is volatile! You merged it with yours that is already merged with mine... There is no telling what will happen! Already you can sense it... just what your mere presence is doing to her!)_

She was kissing him and writhing in his arms. He pressed her roughly up the wall in response.

_Oh yeah, I know... God, I know..._

_(That is NOT what I meant...!)_

* * *

"Kurama, you're growling..." 

"Huh?" Kurama turned his eyes away from where it was fixed at the 2 lovers.

"You started growling when you saw them getting cozy..." one eyebrow was raised quizzically at him. "Are you jealous...? Or envious?"

"What?" he managed to keep his voice down to glare at Hiei.

Hiei shrugged.

* * *

Something flickered to her consciousness. She broke from their kiss. 

"Is something wrong...?" he asked her softly. Part of him was going _Oh thank god_._ I'm not prepared for the occasion,_ the other was going... _No, don't stop_. And then there was the god; Touda was livid inside his head.

"Someone is here."

He sent out his senses to probe. Nothing.

"Just your imagination, dear."

"Ie."

He sighed. He'd lost her. He wasn't so sure though it he should be glad or disappointed. But she did look so cute with her brows furrowed in concentration, and she felt so warm and soft...

_(CRAY!)_

_(Dammit, Touda I hear you! Stop yelling.)_

The god didn't answer. But Cray did get the sense of someone very irritated going their way.

"Snape!"

They both hissed at the same time and stared at each other. He grabbed and lifted her up in his arms. She uttered a surprise yelp and then he flew out of the window, and into the cover of night.

* * *

Snape swore he heard the flap of robes somewhere down the dark corridors. As he rounded the corner he found no one. It didn't help his already foul mood. He was muttering darkly as he made his way back to his quarters. 

Kurama and Hiei watched their DADA professor walk by under them. For a minute, Snape halted in his steps and started looking around. The 2 shrank back into the shadows further and hid their _chi._ Kurama held his breath as the professor scanned the very niche they were pressed on, hoping the man would miss them; hoping that normal Makai stealth techniques of disappearance would work.

It worked. Snape's eyes passed right over them. The man went away and the 2 could breath normally again.

"He's good for a human," Hiei said grudgingly.

Kurama nodded, " Yeah... Everyone being magic users, it's almost like Makai..."

"Minus the violence and the bloody fights"

Kurama chuckled, "You obviously haven't seen the catfights."

"Cats? Fight? So?"

"Later... I'll explain later. Tatsumi said he wanted to meet us at the old, girls' bathroom"

* * *

"I don't have to turn in yet, you know," she said softly in his arms as he flew towards Slytherin Tower. It wasn't technically flying. What he was doing was really just jumping off from place to place and staying on air most of the time. He didn't want to use too much magic to start activating the Castle defenses and flying requires that he raised his chi higher. 

"Shh... It's late. And seriously, you're cold." A small part of him went, _ARE YOU NUTS!_ But he was more fixated on what he just said out loud.

_Did he just say that? God, he just did. Boy he really was in love._

_(And giddy...)_

_Shut up, Touda. I didn't ask for your opinion._

He found the Slytherin Tower. He realize he couldn't just drop her right on her window. The barrier spell in the girl's dormitory would stop him. Hell it would bounce him back. He settled for the window in the common room. He stepped lightly and then slowly let her down on her feet on the warm floor while he stayed on the window sill. She smiled and rose to her tiptoes to kiss him. He had to lean down to reach her.

"Love you..." she smiled as they drew back.

"I love you too," he said softly, running his hand through her hair.

Cough, gag.

More choking sounds.

The 2 froze, then turned to the source of the sound.

"Evening Miriya and mysterious horny person I've never seen before," Aya nodded solemnly. She had stayed in the common room, after stashing her journal somewhere safe, to try and keep up with the school work. Snape had unceremoniously dragged her out of class and had made her miss several lessons by "interviewing" her. So annoying. First few days in school and already she's behind. _Grrrr..._

"Sorry about that. Something got caught down the back of my throat. I'm good now."

Miriya turned red. Aya wondered if the girl could get any redder. _Guy looks cute. So Hiirigazawa likes tall dark mysterious looking guys. There's hope for Ms. Goody-two-shoes after all._ Okay so she hadn't exactly demonstrated any good-ness yet for her to qualify for that title, but somehow Miriya just gave off that sort of vibe to her.

_Oh this is so much fun... teasing her._ She looked at Cray. _Yeah, so you're definitely the guy I overheard some of the teachers talking about, and then some of the girls too as I was on my way for the "interview." _She stared back at the blushing girl and her current state of dress.

"Normally with a guy like that, I wear something with more slink..." she tried not to let her lips twitch. Judging from Hiirigazawa's state of dress, they were interrupted. Seriously though, what was that girl thinking; he was definitely a lace person, not oversized pjs. _Geeze._ At least she still had the sense to use silk, otherwise she didn't think she could handle it if Miriya wore thick cotton Pjs. She'd probably be shaking the girl hoping to knock some sense into her...

Sniff. Sniff.

She started to laugh. _Oh gods. No wonder she was clueless_; never been plucked. Just like most of the girls here in the dorm. Well at least she can give Miriya a few credits. The girl didn't talk about it. The rest seemed to talk about it but had 0 experience. Or worse, denied it and pretended to be holier than thou. So annoying. Points to for Mr. Dark and Mysterious for not taking advantage of the situation. He seemed odd... He didn't seem to act like most normal guys she knew of.

Cray looked at both girls and wondered how he should handle this situation.

Miriya decided to ignore the comments was the best course of action.

"He's just dropping me off. Why are you still up and singing at this late hour?"

"Why are you two?" Aya shot back.

Cray decided now would be a good time to exit. "Well it looks like everything is okay... Uhm, goodnight Miriya." He waited for her acknowledgement, a smile that seemed warmer than how she was right now, before leaving.

"Haven't seem him for a long time now." She made her way to the fire place to warm herself up first.

_Good gods she didn't really have to answer that._ She was either very naive or very cunning. Aya decided on the former, but just in case she was wrong she decided to stay on guard... After all, you never know what ran through a girl's mind.

"So, what about you?"

The question took Aya off guard. She'd expected Miriya to be defensive. _Naive or cunning? Which is it? Arrgh!_

"None of your business."

Miriya looked like she'd been slapped. And then her expression seemed to soften. Aya groaned inwardly. _If she gets that pitying look I'm so slapping her senseless. _To her surprise the other girl's expression turned neutral.

"Suit yourself Aya. You'll tell when you're ready."

She watched the girl make her way up to the girl's dormitory.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Nothing."

_Tch. Fine. Have it your way. I'm not telling you about the sleeping pollen then._

"What the...? Aya? Why do I smell sleeping po..." THUD.

_Serves her right._ She resumed singing while studying that way she won't get bored easily.

* * *

Tatsumi found himself standing in front of the unused girls' bathroom. 

He stared.

And stared again.

And then kicked himself wondering what the heck he was doing dithering outside. He was a grown man. It's not like he was going to be doing some sort of embarrassing things in the girl's bathroom.

More nervous dithering.

_Well then why the heck was he still hesitating. It's just the girl's bathroom and rarely been used for En-ma's sake!_

_I'm sure somewhere in his long career as the Undead- he must have entered into some girl's bathroom to escort her back to Meifu, right? After all, Death comes in even the most unexpected places._

He couldn't recall any such incident.

_Okay, fine. When he was living...? Surely he must have entered into one either by accident or dare?_

Nada. Zilch. The big zero.

_What is it with men and their fascination in the goings on and layout inside girls' bathrooms?_

"I never really understood it myself, honestly," a voice piped up beside him, startling him.

"Ch. It's just a bathroom. No different from the males."added another voice.

"Well, actually Hiei, there are some differences though. For example we have these devices called u..." Kurama added.

Time to salvage what was left of his poise. Tatsumi cleared his throat, "FYI, I was waiting for you both. And stop reading my goddamn mind."

Kurama patted him on the back consolingly, "It's alright Sei-san. It must be the after effects of that love potion she slipped you."

The_ shinigami_ bit back any retaliation to that. He was still trying to find a Tatsumi trademark response for such a situation when Hiei spoke up asking what in Makai's name they are doing standing outside a dark corridor in front of a girl's bathroom.

_Oh thank you for small blessings!_ He cleared his throat.

"Few years back, Potter discovered the Chamber of Secrets..."

"You mean the boy with the lightning scar on his forehead?" Hiei asked.

"With the funky _chi _hanging out with... Hiirigazawa?" Kurama seemed to stumble a bit at the name.

"That one, yes. Apparently, a basilisk was residing in there. As is explained- this Voldemort is one of our wanted men, and in addition to being a powerful magician, he seems to be able to communicate with snakes as well. We know Voldemort's real name and how he lived. What we are not certain is how he eluded death. However from what I have gathered... I think I may have an idea as to how, but I will need to verify this by going down and seeing, for ourselves, the scene."

Hiei yawned, "Well, looks like you don't need us here."

"Hold on, your 3rd eye can see things that we normally can't. I want you to use it down there; help sort out what is fact from rumor."

Kurama's mental gears were turning as he mulled things over.

"Don't worry about ghosts...I took care of it," Tatsumi added in the sudden silence.

"That wasn't what I was thinking but now that you brought up the subject, how did you do that? Last I heard Moaning Myrtle haunts this place. Students say she died here."

"Simple. I just made it feel like someone's coming over to collect them. The Bureau's backlog is boggling. So much so that some spirits never got picked up so usually those spirits linger over places they have a strong connection to or are drawn to magical points becoming ghosts. With how long they've lingered here... it would be very much like a second death. And yes, it won't be traced back to me. We have our own tricks too. We either let you know we're coming but not to who or when. Or we just drop in out of the blue and tell you your time is up."

"I would have sensed it," Hiei grumbled.

"If I was newbie at this, yes. And frankly- if you want to argue this pick another time. You have school tomorrow and I have a class to teach so let's get this over with as quickly and painlessly as possible."

"Question...? How do we find this Chamber of Secrets?" Kurama muttered and then just as the question slipped out of his mouth he realized something and turned to Hiei. Tatsumi did the same thing.

"What?" came Hiei's suspicious and curt response.

* * *

After a few false starts the group found themselves under Hogwarts' grounds and inside the pipelines and sewage system. With Hiei's 3rd eye they manage to find the trigger spot to open the Chamber _'door.'_ The next tricky part was the password which was suppose to be spoken in Parsel tongue...but leave that to the master thief. It wasn't long before Kurama picked their way in without having to speak the Parsel tongue password. A few well place vines here and there and viola! 

The stink, however, was another matter, and for once Tatsumi was glad he could turn into a ghost.

"Ugh! I thought this place was rarely used?" Hiei winced.

"That must be the rotting carcass of the basilisk we're smelling."

Kurama shot the brunette a look, "Tatsumi's cheating. No fair, turning into a ghost. You have to inhale this stench too."

"Crap. This smells worse than Makai air on a really bad day!" the fire demon grumbled.

"No thanks. I like my incorporeal self right about now. One whiff was enough."

"Why the heck did you make me pick the damn lock first when you can just go through it in the first place!"

"Because the other teachers have sealed the damn place up! Ghosts don't go down there and if I did, or some other ghost did, it would trip their alarms."

"Oh... Sorry."

Hiei shook his head. It seemed it wasn't just Kurama that was acting loopy. Tatsumi wasn't in his usual calm, severe, and serene state. _That must be some powerful potion Shinimori doped him with._

It wasn't long before they came into sight at the rotting carcass. To say it was gross was an understatement. However the loony part in Kurama's brain wanted to roll in the smell; much like how canines roll in stink. The only thing keeping it in check was his vanity, and the reminder that if he did, his bed would forever be cursed by that volatile stench.

"Well," Hiei declared having enough. "This is useful. One really dead stinking basilisk. Tell me how this helps?"

Tatsumi was surveying and studying the area. That there was a fight was obvious. What he wanted was the tooth that pierced the diary. It was said the diary bled when pierced. This was odd. Items, no matter how much soul or spirit is poured into making it, don't bleed when destroyed... unless...

"Look for a broken off piece of basilisk tooth- a fang."

Kurama winced as he stepped accidentally in a pool of putrid decaying mass. "Oh geez that is gross..." he shook his foot to get rid of the slime. "How the heck will we see that fang when this thing is already liquefying and covering most of the damn area with stinking goop?"

"Hiei...?" Tatsumi looked over the fire demon who groaned and rolled his eyes. The little guy lifted his diadem up a little to free his 3rd eye to scan the area.

"Over there... Oh great, right in the deepest part of that green muck."

No one made a move to retrieve it. It was that disgusting.

Tatsumi looked at the two, who just stared back at him.

Kurama shrugged, "Hey... If you want it that badly go get it yourself. I am so getting out of here and getting a shower."

Hiei was trudging his way back following Kurama's retreating form, "Yeah... We did our part. Good night, teach."

"Hey...! Wait!"

"Tell us all about it tomorrow, okay Sei-san? _Oyasumi-nasai_!" Kurama said way too cheerily.

Tatsumi watched the red head and the fire demon disappear back down the tunnel where they came from. Then he eyed the muck that Hiei said had the tooth.

_I am so asking for a bonus for this... Grr._

* * *

Kurama had decided to stop by in the Prefect's bathroom to bathe and shower. Only till he was sure that the scent didn't stick to him did he stop and got out. Of course he'd thrown his clothes away. There was no saving them. This was why he entered the common room with only one of the spare towels from the bathroom for such emergencies, wrapped around his waist. 

He froze when he heard Aya singing.

_Someone's awake? No way._

He hesitated before stepping over the threshold and revealing himself. Several thoughts ran through his head- the pros and cons of meeting her with him wrapped only in a towel.

_Wait it out till she fell asleep?_

Judging from the fact that she was starting another song while happily scribbling their homework essay, which he noted was several inches long already... It would be a loooong wait. And yes, even demon foxes, or itans, or whatever the hell he was, needed sleep too, damnit.

_I must be out of mind._

_(But we are dear boy.)_

_Shut up, Youko._

The singing stop when she saw him. One eyebrow was raised.

"Well, hello, almost naked hot guy."

_Nope. He didn't like that grin at all._

_(I do. She grins like me too when I corner my prey.)_ Laughter.

_Just shut up will you!_

"So what happened that you needed to take a shower this late of the night?"

"Something stank."

"Vain. But it's okay. I like my men to be a little vain."

"I'm not your man."

"We'll see."

Kurama was making his way towards the boys' room taking care not to be within towel grabbing distance from the girl.

"Are you afraid I will grab your towel?"

_(Hold on... Why is she still awake?)_ Youko suddenly asked inside his head.

_Well hello there Youko. Glad you finally caught up._ Came his sarcastic reply.

"I'm not afraid. I just don't like getting grabbed."

"I'll be gentle." She gave a wider grin.

"I don't care." In his mind Youko was demanding an explanation for the girl's wakefulness.

She resumed singing yet still watching him as he moved.

"Any special significance to that song you keep singing?"

She looked surprise. "Huh? Significance?"

"Fields of Innocence by Evanescence... that's twice already you've repeated that song."

It was apparent on her face that she was singing it almost unconsciously. He had taken her by surprise with his question. He had almost made it to the boys' area when a pair of feet stopped him short. His eyes traveled higher to slim legs covered in oversize silk jammies. The silk had clung to her body, outlining every curve. Her top was even partially undone.

Miriya... Slumped and very asleep on the staircase on the way to the girl's dormitory.

_(Ohh goodie, look at her.)_

Kurama imagined that Youko had chibified and was trying to stuff him in a box and stowing him away. To his chagrin-the chibified Youko was running around forcing him to chase after him. _Damnit even his imagination wasn't going his way today._

_(I have another better use for our imagination...)_

_Huh? Whoa..._

A second or two later and he was back to trying to reduce Youko into chibi form in his imagination. What Youko had shown was something better left to R-18 audiences.

"Aya... What the heck is she doing here?"

He had an idea of how that might have happened but he wasn't thinking clearly for now. No, something about warm beds, soft silken sheets...

"Nyah. Not telling you. You weren't nice to me."

_Was it just his running amok imagination or is Shinimori looking sleepy? Miriya... Can't leave her out here. People would suspect something. She would be able to put two and two together if she woke up or something... Getting difficult to think clearly... Youko stop that!_

Youko was bouncing around now in his head. In chibi form, too. _Good god._

He picked up Miriya and carried her back to her room. In his fuzzy state he had forgotten about the barrier. He found only 2 beds empty. One obviously seemed to belong to Aya with the surrounding funky stuff near its dresser. He set Miriya down in the other bed.

_Her neck looks so inviting..._

_(Yes, and I bet if you unbutton a few more buttons...)_

_Stop that!_

He got up and staggered out.

"AHA! I knew you weren't one of them."

_Shit._

"You went through that barrier like it was nothing!" she exclaimed, before letting out an unexpected yawn. "... You must... be... responsible for the... crap. I'm getting sleepy... damnit... that was... sooner than I... thought... wow, really potent... pollen... Zzzzzzzz"

Kurama stared unbelievingly as he leaned on the wall watching the glamour fade, revealing all of her healing scars and burns to him, or at least what the robe wasn't concealing. It didn't take much of a genius to figure out there was more under it. He had a moment of clarity as he made his way to her and whispered to her slowly fading consciousness.

"I keep your secret and get you to bed, but you must keep mine."

"Uhn... mhm... yeah... kay... Zzzzzz..."

"Promise...?"

"On... My... staff... I... swear..." Aya's head rolled back finally.

Kurama sighed. Long night.

* * *

_Herbology. His favorite subject right? Him; Youko. Plants were his specialty so this should be..._

Yawn.

_God it's so boring._

He could swear that his eyes were glazing. Professor Sprout was going on, and on, about how to properly handle the snapping plants whose juices were a powerful ingredient in dream potions. That is, if you could get past it's snapping bulb to get at the leaves. _Heh. Dangerous?_ This tiny plant is no way near what he would call dangerous. Annoying was more like it. All he had to do was look at it and mentally say 'Stay,' and then it was just sitting there, looking at him obediently; Waiting for him to complete any business he had with them.

Yawn.

Dirt pelted his back jolting him back to alertness. He turned to find the cause.

Aya.

The girl, for reasons he could not fathom yet, was upset at him and had made her displeasure evident during breakfast... And now, even in class, by throwing dirt at his back. He frowned slightly. If anything, it should be him that would be upset at her. She had attempted to grab his towel last night; and she was asleep! He was just closing the curtains when a hand gripped his free wrist. He had tried to adjust his towel as he fixed the drapes around the girl's bed, to keep her secret, and she struck. For a minute he had thought she was awake and playing with him. Turned out she was in deep sleep and muttering. He carefully extricated himself from her grip, and went to bed finally that night.

_So what the heck was she throwing dirt at him for? He kept her secret. She'd better keep his, or there would be payback._

Aya glowered right back at Kurama. She'd misunderstood deal last night. She'd thought taking her to bed meant... Well, not dropping her off in her own bed to sleep, but something far more active and fun. Yeah, so what if she's a little too active for her own good, and age. If anything, doing it stabilized her energy and mental state. Hell, she'd be more of a nut case if she didn't have it as an outlet. Well okay, revenge and journal keeping is another, but come on... She's far to messed up for just those two; she needed another 'activity.' Yes. Boys and girls, I do not recommend this course of action, but hey... What works for Susie doesn't mean it's going to work for Aya. It helped too that she wasn't human. On the other hand, it also gave her a higher reserve of energy to work off of. She had an immunity that made her impervious to all human ailments. And she heals faster too. So no, boys and girls, I do not recommend this sort of thing to the rest of you. Nyah. Besides, it was one of the only times when she wasn't feeling anything other than pleasure and excitement. That was something she needed at least every now and then.

So, she thought she'd break the deal, but then it would put her identity at risk. She already had enough trouble with Snape and those... Snitching blue bloods. Could she claim it was an accident that resulted in those scars? No, he's too smart for that, and she wasn't that quick as him. That was something she'd easily admit. She might end up getting trapped in her own lies, and then what...?

She growled and settled for throwing a few pebbles at him again, in annoyance and frustration.

Miriya watched her partner's odd behavior. For the 2nd time she got paired off again with the unstable girl. Minamino was acting funny too. She shrugged, "Not that I care how odd you 2 are acting."

"Says the one who collapsed asleep on the stairs," Aya shot back irritated.

Silence. Then, a sudden realization. Aya could swear a light bulb just flashed over the other girl's head.

"Wait, hold on. I remember..." Blinks. "Then, how did I get to bed..?"

The girl honestly looked confused. Aya had never met anyone whose thoughts and emotions were so easily transparent on their face.

She cleared her throat, holding back a grin of mischief. "I may know who put you there, but I won't say how." She shot Kurama a look. The boy glared right back at her.

Miriya didn't miss the dagger looks exchange, and gave Aya a questioning look.

Aya decided she liked being cruel. She smiled and shrugged. "I don't remember the person telling me to keep their identity secret, after all," she smirked over at Kurama.

Kurama heard Youko snarl inside his head. Outside, he tried to act calm and ignore Aya. The girl responded by tossing a few more pebbles and some leaves that landed on his hair. It took a lot of effort to calm down Youko but he managed it.

"Yow!"

Miriya. She'd miscalculated and the plant had bitten her. Blood welled up from her finger tip. She instinctively had started to suck at her finger now.

Youko calmed down when he saw that. He wanted to know what else the girl would...

_DON'T even go there!_

Youko wasa picture of innocence now. Kurama groaned inwardly. He hated this. He can barely recall those times he slowly went over the edge and back then, but it wasn't as loony and childish as this...

Aya was chiding her partner for not being careful. Kurama saw she was using it also as a way to direct attention away from the fact that she was coaxing the plant to be still. _Crude but rubbing the main stem of that species usually calmed... Wait, hold on... That wasn't taught. All Sprout said was to dodge the snapping bulb in getting the leaves, or say a spell to calm it down. She's been in Makai!_

A thumb sucking Youko responded, (_Mhmm... That must explain the scars.)_

There were other yelps of pain. It seemed Hiirigazawa wasn't the only one bitten.

"Cripes... What has gotten into this thing!"

Aya's alarmed voice broke his reverie. The girl was shaking her hand too. She had been bitten as well. In an instant he felt the shift in the plant's chi, and all hell broke loose.

_OH NO._

Youko went _'fweeeee'_ in his head.

The plants they'd been working on were the immature versions of what he used in their fight with Karasu. Fed with his chi, they could mature into meat-eating versions that snap at anything that would move. _Did Aya feed it her energy...?_

No, he felt the mild shift earlier after it had bitten Hiirigazawa.

In one swift movement he was on their table and pulling the girls away. Unthinking he took Miriya's wounded finger and tasted her blood.

He felt the sudden rush of power as soon as her blood touched his tongue.

_Pure Maja!_

"What the hell are you doing to MY fiancée!"

He found himself looking up at Cray who pulled the stunned girl up to her feet.

Everyone else in the room were frozen at what he had just done. He just realized he had sucked on her finger. Why that was more astonishing compared to the rapidly growing plant, he would have to figure out later. Dimly, he heard Yusuke whoop and congratulate him for having the guts when the plant hit full size breaking the glass house. And then the bulb dove towards the nearest moving object; some shrieking girl from Hufflepuff.

More screams and wands were pulled out and aimed at the plant. That made its other heads go after those moving items too. Including, sadly, their owners. Everyone was running and screaming. Sprout was tangled up in the vines and waving her wand to free herself.

_This is bad..._

The Rei Tantei looked at each other and wondered how to fix this without revealing who they really were.

Harry was glad no one had become plant food so far. Ron was busy directing students out of the way, and they seemed to calm down ,and were no longer running this way and that. Hermione was wracking her brain for a suitable spell when the main bulb went up in a black fire ball. The black fire spread quickly over the plant and incinerated it. Strangely enough, no one felt the heat. Far more importantly, no one and nothing, except the plant itself, was burnt.

Hiei stared intently at the tall man. The black fire glow in Cray's right hand slowly vanished.

_A black fire user too? Like him? How could that be? Wasn't he the only one--and wait... Human!_

He heard Kurama's strained voice behind him, "It seems...there's more to the Houses history than what we know of..."

"Ch."

* * *

He frowned ever so slightly as he saw the display of magic from the Dragon Heir. He could also pretty much guess what had happened to the plant. It had a taste of maja blood. The stories were right about the Reed line then... The Bastard House as he would like to call it. There was a non-human in their line. The Houses were right to object on the Reed line. The fact that the Dragon Heir had declared his intentions to one of the daughters of the Reed line was a matter of concern. The Dragon line would have a powerful ally, and they would rule over the Houses. Something that he could never accept. The Dragon clan did not worship Shiva, they worship His Heretic wife, Kali. Shiva was pure, while Kali had destroyed them; scattered them like straw in the wind, and worse of all, She had betrayed Her Husband. Unforgivable. But that was to be expected. Women were irrational, unreasonable and Kali was Chaos personified. Shiva was the Pure One. The Enlightened of the First. The one that brought Order. His return had been now long delayed. Oh but He, the Chosen, the real Chosen One andnot that Potter, among the Houses and all in the Magic World will bring about his Lord's return. Shiva will thank him in return, oh yes. He and his House will be exalted above all. They may not know him now, but when the time comes, it will be his name they will speak of in hush tones. The old man Voldemort was useful for now, and he will be his distraction. And when they finally realize what the real score was, it will be far too late.Shiva, his master, will finally walk the earth again. 

He smiled softly. A few girls turned to smile back at him shyly which he acknowledged politely. _Weak. They are all weak. Only the strong can serve the Lord of Order._ But for now, he will pretend to be this wizard's spy.

* * *

The chase never stopped. He had a few brief moments of relief, but with the way everything seemed to be turned upside down or right side up... He wasn't really sure if they were minutes, or eternities. Sometimes he would elude his pursuers. Sometimes they were almost right on top of him. But on he ran, knowing that if they caught with him, he would never be able to see his god son and warn him of what he had seen, known, heard and learned of while in Limbo. 

He ran to another brightly lit portal...and ended down on his face in snow. He coughed a few times before standing up and dusting his robes. The weird thing about being stuck in Limbo was that he was only a ghost if he ran into his particular time line and dimension. Should it be another time line or dimension...he was...disturbingly corporeal...and glad that he could see the next door way or he'd be stuck there forever to die another death...

_Great... Where am I know? Please don't let it be the Jurassic age, again. That pterodactyl was waaaay to close for comfort._

He rounded a corner and found himself in a beautiful garden blanketed in white snow so that it looked like a winter wonderland. However, one tree was infull bloom, like it was in spring.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" a cold voice asked him from behind. At the same time he felt the cold sharp tip of a sword threatening the back of his neck.

Great, he was corporeal again. On the good side, maybe it was safe to tell, whoever this person was, his name. He started to open his mouth when a tall man wearing a purple magician's robe came into his sight line. The man looked amused at them, it seemed. He had long hair which he had tied back and he took his glasses of to wipe them with a white handkerchief before putting it back on. Close behind him was a big yellow- Sirius did a double-take. _A mountain lion with angel wings! Wait, he shouldn't be so surprised. He'd seen a lot more odd stuff, but... Damn, what is that thing?_

"Yue, let Mr. Black go. He hasn't come to do bad things."

_Yue..._ So that's the name of whoever was holding the sword.

"Oh geeze...You are so uptight, Yue."

Sirius did a major double take. _The cat... It talked!_

After a few seconds, and the other part hit Sirius full-force.

_Hey... How the hell did he know my name...!_

"Are you sure Reed-sama? Ghosts are usually troublesome."

Sirius found his voice finally. "Hold on... How did you..."

"Know?" this Reed said to him politely. "I'm a magician, much like you. I was just enjoying a stroll around in my garden when we felt something and decided to see who it was. Welcome, Mr. Black."

"Where am I?"

"Limbo" the man said cheerily. "They," he gestured to his 2 other companions. Yue step into his line of sight and Sirius felt himself gasp in surprise. Yue looked like an angel, with his pale complexion and long snow white hair that trailed down to his feet... _And look at those downy wings... Wow, it was just... Wow._

"They," Reed continued, "are not really here. I'm just visiting their dreams. Which, unfortunately, they will remember little of when they wake."

"Who are you...?" Sirius asked him suspiciously as Reed dismissed the others saying that it was about time they wake up.

Reed finally turned to smile at him pleasantly, "My name is Clow Reed. It's nice to meet you. I'm afraid we will not shake hands. Their dream is slowly dissolving and then your pursuers will be coming for you."

"Are you like me?"

"Nope. I'm not really here either. I think the closest description would be is that I'm a ghost of a ghost, though even that isn't very accurate since I'm alive in 2 people."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry too much about the details. You've seen the chaos creeping in the horizon?" he gestured to the darkness just off the edge of limbo. To Sirius it seemed like the only thing keeping that darkness at bay was some sort of invisible barrier.

"Yes, what about it?"

"Let's just say that if your godson's arch enemy succeeds, that... Will crash over everything. Also, please tell Harry to be careful. Our... line is not known for... Sanity..." Reed chuckled.

"You know him too?"

"Oh dear... Time to go. Your pursuers have almost caught up again. We'll run into each other soon, Mr. Black, but I maybe in a different form."

"Wait, are you saying Voldemort will destroy us?"

"Yes, but it won't be him doing the destroying, though... In fact, he may be destroyed too, along with the rest of us if he succeeds. Ah, but I must go now. I'm not suppose to exist anyway..."

Sirius watched in disbelief as the man faded away, till what was left was the faint laughter, and even then that was gone too.

_Good gods. What has been going on the real world? Was he going insane? What if that man was right...?_

_I must find a way to get back and reach Harry!_

* * *

Tatsumi found himself in the deepest recesses of Hogwarts' library looking at a lot of spells and powerful forbidden magic. Many of these were banned and no longer in use. He however suspected that Tom M. Riddle had used them. He must admit that the anagram of his name was witty on Riddle's part. 

He had sent the tooth via one of the Rei Tantei's familiars to Watari. Tatsumi already had a sneaking suspicion on what the diary really was from the psychic impressions he got from the dried blood on the tooth. But he had to confirm. As far as he could tell, that sort of magic was not very widely known in the West. If there was a book here somewhere, then that could explain how the boy managed to get that info.

His beeper vibrated deep in his coat pocket. He fished it out and looked at it.

_Watari._

That was fast. Even for the doctor's standards.

He got down the ladder and dusted himself. He was carrying a thick dust covered tome that tried to snap and growl at him. It pacified when he threatened to kill it and added a little demonstration to prove he wasn't bluffing. He needed to get back to his room before he can talk to Watari privately.

He managed to get to his room a few minutes later. It helped that most of the students were in classes and he had none scheduled today, so that the halls were not only empty, he also had free time. He entered his room and placed the book on a table before making sure his kekkai was up and in place. To any outside observer, magical or otherwise, he was seated on his desk and studying. In reality he was standing in the middle of a circle and communicating back to the JuOh Cho.

"Watari, any news?"

Watari's smiling face appeared on the mirror in Tatsumi's room. "Hai Seiichiro-san. And quite disturbing too. The Count says it certainly explains the odd behavior of Riddle's candle."

"Explain."

"Well, the count says Riddle's candles are split but one of the candles had already blown off. So that means your theory is right; Riddle has indeed used the technique to claim pseudo-immortality. Nowhere near Reed's stunt, however. The count still couldn't find Reed's candle, but 2 candles similar to Reed's had sprung where Reed's candle disappeared. Riddle's is unlike those candles. It's just one candle split into..." Watari consulted his book. "Seven, I think... Unless I misheard the Count, and you know how creepy he makes me feel..." The doctor flinched at the memory.

A second later the blond doctor was edged out of the screen by a puppy Tsuzuki.

"Tatsumiiiiiiii! It's a mess here... People aren't dying properly!" the other shinigami whined and pouted. He was pushed over by a smaller honey colored hair shinigami, "We'll make a report of it Tatsumi-san. Please ignore my partner."

"Ehem." Watari push the jostling duo away from him so that he could once more talk to Tatsumi. "By the way Sei-san, we had to revive the poor bird... The tooth... Stank..." the man's nose wrinkled. "We had to seal off the lab and clean up the air filters... I know it's going to hurt the budget but..."

"We'll charge it to the European branch," Tatsumi was still thinking. He missed the shocked look on Watari's face. The doctor had expected him to start ranting and raving at the costs.

"Uhm... Okay. You okay Tatsumi?"

"Mhm? Oh, yes. I was just thinking... His efforts seem similar to Dr. Muraki..."

The 3 other shinigamis on the other side of the mirror shuddered.

"Good god... If those two ever meet," Watari started and had a hand clamped to his mouth by Tsuzuki who shot him a warning glance. Watari recovered and looked at Tatsumi, "Err... Anything else?"

"No, thank you. That's all we have for now. Tell Chief Konoe that I'll make a formal report later."

* * *

The class room doors opened to spill out students and teachers. Each on their way to their next class or the rest room or to swing by the dining hall to grab a bite to eat. Some kids who had no classes yet made their way to the grounds to talk, mingle or even do a little broom flying. 

"Whoa, you heard the news?" Ron said to Harry and Hermione as he sat down on the grass in front of them. "We're having more DADA classes than ever. And not only that, it will be in this one HUGE classroom too."

Harry almost choked a little on his milk. "Seriously?" He remembered the last session. One of them almost ended up dead.

Miriya joined them, with Cray not so far behind, to join their group.

"I also heard that they'll be teaching us wordless magic. I mean, what the heck is that?" Ron continued in that still awed voice.

As usual Hermione provided the answer, "Basically magic done without words... Obviously."

Ron was apparently dense that day or flying in a very good mood because he ignored the sarcasm, "But yeah... How? I overheard Ms. Mizuki, Snape and Dumbledore talking down the corridor while I talked to Ginny. Snape was in a fit. He said it was too soon, and that early grade levels shouldn't be taught..."

"Whoa, hold up..." Harry wave a hand. "The younger year levels will be joining us?"

Cray glanced at him curiously, "It's Defense for Dark Arts. Your age shouldn't matter. The more you know, the better."

"Well, yeah, but what about the basics...? They could hurt themselves with it too if they don't know basics." Harry responded.

Miriya shrugged, "Ms. Mizuki will start on basics...I don't think she'd do anything high level on the first few days. I'm guessing she might teach the physical aspect of defense first though."

Ron laughed, "You mean dodging?"

"Yes, dodging." Miriya decided to ignore the laugh.

"And running." Cray added.

"This would involve stamina..." Miriya said again. "Just look at what happened in Herbology, and I don't know what we did with our plant... It just... Grew..." She still looked a bit mystified at it.

"They do have a point..." Hermione mused. "We never really emphasized the physical aspect of magic..."

"Hey..." Ron started to get flustered.

"Besides," Miriya looked at Harry. "There is a certain point where magic demands a lot from your body. It also explains the sudden spike in your appetite Harry. " She grinned.

Harry paused in mid bite to a sandwich he'd taken from the hall. "Uhm... Really?"

"Yes, really." Cray added solemnly.

Hermione looked at her class schedule parchment and watched in surprised as a new schedule suddenly appeared on it. She groaned and looked at everyone, "We have DADA after dinner."

Ron peered over her shoulder, "Guess Snape lost the argument after all."

* * *

Afternoon was Care of Magical Creatures, and so the joint group of 5th years who passed the OWLs trudged down towards Hagrid's cabin. A few students were already there and oohing and aaahing at something behind the fence. Hermione and Miriya hurried to it to look while the guys made some mock groans about girl's curiosity. However soon enough the cries of delight drew them over. 

Behind the fence were creatures that looked like a cross between cats and foxes.

"AWWWWWWW! SOOOOO CUTE!"

Everyone turned at the voice while the companions of the voice's owner cringed and wanted nothing to do with him.

Kuwabara ran over the fence and reached for one of the cute cuddly creatures and instantly got caught up in a fight with them as the creatures thought they were being attacked.

"AAAHHHH! Heeeelllppppp!"

"Alright... Enough you little B'vals." a deep booming voice said.

The cries of how cute and cuddly turned into an apprehensive murmur as the creatures got off a now badly scratched and bleeding Kuwabara.

Yusuke couldn't help but laugh. "It's okay. He's survived worse than that."

Kuwabara glared at him and joined their ranks muttering about how he likes kittens and that kittens like him back.

"Ch. They're not kittens..Baka." Hiei snorted.

"Well kiddies, now you know that them are quite deadly, too..."

Malfoy snorted in the background.

Harry shot him a look.

"...When handled wrongly," Hagrid added, oblivious to Malfoy's snort. "They're also where our butterbeer comes from. Without them, that nice butterbeery flavor just wouldn't be the same."

There was a stunned silence as several minds wondered how the felines would yield butterbeer. _Was it milked from them? No that wasn't right.. It was made of some sort of seed if they recall correctly._

Hagrid continued totally oblivious to the silence. "See these creatures eat the seeds of the butterbeer tree and from those seeds we make our brew of butterbeer. Without these creatures, butterbeer would be bitter. It seems that once the seed passes through their stomachs, the bitterness is removed..."

"Wait, hold just a minute" Malfoy was looking horrified more and more at what Hagrid was saying. _Please, please let his suspicions be wrong._ _It just CAN'T be!_ "Are you saying... Seeds taken AFTER they've eaten it is the ingredient to our... butterbeer?"

"Why yes. Their droppings are picked and the seeds harvested that way..."

The rest of his words where lost when all the students howled in despair while a few gagged and turned green.

And so passes half a regular school day in Hogwarts…


End file.
